Vanished
by weshallflyaway2
Summary: A week after graduating from the academy and newly engaged, Naina Singh Ahluwalia vanishes. As her friends seek to uncover the truth about what happened to her, she races against time to complete a mission in which she cannot fail.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

He climbs in her window in the middle of the night, so silently that she doesn't even wake up.

It's only when he's shaking her awake with one hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming that she realises he's there.

"Shh," he whispers to her, careful not to wake up Pooja where she lies sleeping in the next bed. It's only when Naina nods her head that he removes his hand from her mouth.

"I don't know how much time I have here," he tells her seriously, "So listen carefully to what I need to tell you…"

/

_Two months later…_

Huda has finally won.

Three days before they graduate from KMA, Naina finally comes to see him in his room. Just as he'd predicted she would all those years ago.

He has never given up asking her to marry him, he has done everything in his power to win her over and finally it has worked.

She stands there quietly for a moment, just looking at him, her hands clutched tightly together as if she is nervous. Finally she speaks.

"Huda I'm ready to get engaged to you." Naina says simply and he jumps in the air punching his fist, yelling out "Yes!"

Huda hugs her then and Naina hugs him back she feels loose in his arms, as if she is slipping away from him.

"But you'll have to wait for me, before I can get married there's some things I need to do." Naina tells him, her expression serious.

Huda nods eagerly, no matter what it is that Naina needs to do he is prepared to wait, after all, he's waited for two years already.

"Oh tikh hai Phoolan, just let me call up my mummyji, we can hold the engagement after graduation." There is no way he is going to give her time to change her mind.

She just nods quietly and turns to leave.

"Rukho Phoolan," Huda calls out, a doubt forming in his mind. "Tum khush ho, hai na?"

"Of course I am, Huda," she replies, a smile coming to her face, "Why else would I finally agree?"

He is bursting with so much happiness that he wants to share it with someone, so he rushes into the room next door to find Aalekh practicing his English homework.

"I've won, Qaidi!" he calls out joyfully. "Phoolan finally mere hogayi!"

Aalekh looks up in surprise as soon as Huda rushes into the room.

"What do they say…Congratulations." Aalekh tells him, without any change of expression. "But if you've won, then who's the loser?"

"Oy Qaidi, main bohot khush hoon, mera saath panga mat lo…" Huda starts to say and then stops at the look on Aalekh's face, for once he is completely serious.

"Kya matlab?"

"Leave it," Alekh says with a shrug. "There's nobody else left to compete with, is there?"

Huda just stares at him, wanting to pretend that he doesn't know what Aalekh is talking about.

"I don't care," Huda replies, "She's said yes and she's happy to marry me, I don't need to have won against anyone. Phoolan isn't a bet to me."

Aalekh shrugs and packs up his books.

"Oy, where are you going ?"

"To tell your dulhan congratulations," Aalekh replies, and is gone.

And Huda is left thinking, has he really won or is it just that he is the only one left? All of his rivals are gone, and in the end has he won Phoolan or been given her?

With Captain Rajveer and Captain Abhimanyu gone, only he remained…

Huda has finally won.

So why is it that he feels like he is only getting a consolation prize?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Three days later it is the moment they have all waited two years for, their graduation day.

The cadets wake early, not wanting to waste a single moment of the day. They ready themselves carefully, making sure that their uniforms are spotless, not a single hair out of place. After all, this will be one of the most important moments of their lives.

"Can you believe we're finally graduating?" Pooja asks Naina excitedly, "I can't believe that we finally made it to this day after everything that has happened."

Yes, everything that had happened… Naina couldn't feel as happy as the others at the prospect of graduating. Despite her vow, she hasn't been able to prove her brother innocent yet, and now she is about to leave KMA. But as she had once been told, 'While breath remains there is still hope,' and Naina isn't going to give up yet.

"So your parents will be coming, Pooja?"

"Of course! They would never miss it, Papa is planning to take lots of pictures of me on his new phone. And they're finally going to meet Ali's parents properly, I'm so nervous!"

"Don't worry Pooja, I'm sure they'll get on together well."

Pooja nods in agreement, both of their parents have finally given in and decided to get the two of them married. Now they just have to sort out the details.

"So Naina, your parents will be meeting Huda's mummy and daddy too, won't they?"

Naina is silent for a moment. "Yes Pooja, they've already talked on the phone but they'll be meeting each other for the first time."

"So what's going to happen with the engagement?"

"I think they've decided on one week after graduation," she smiles slightly at Pooja, "I'll be able to tell you a date by the end of the day, you'll come won't you?"

"Of course! Do you think I'd miss it? After all, it's my best friend and room mate's engagement!" Pooja becomes serious then, looking into Naina's eyes to try to gauge her feelings, "You are happy about it, aren't you Naina?"

Naina gives a short laugh that isn't exactly joyful. "Why does everybody ask me that? Why else would I have agreed?"

Pooja continues gazing at Naina, trying to see beyond the mask she wears. "Dekh doost, if you ever need to talk then my network will always be ready to connect with yours."

Naina nods, "Thanks Pooja, but there's nothing that I need to say."

/

Finally graduation time arrives and the cadets line up to say their oath, watched over proudly by their parents and the faculty members.

"You know what would have made this perfect?" Yudi asks Aalekh, "If Captain Rajveer had been here when we graduated, kash vo…" But seeing the look on Naina's face, Yudi suddenly becomes silent, unwilling to say anything else.

The ceremony itself is relatively short, BC limiting his speech to about ten minutes. The cadets don't even mind listening to him, they are so proud to be graduating. Then finally it is over and they are all lieutenants within the Indian Army. Ali's parents are perhaps the proudest of the lot, overjoyed that their son has finally fulfilled their dream and become an officer.

"Oy Phoolan," Huda greets her, approaching Naina after the ceremony, "Ah, hello Auntyji, Uncleji." He touches their feet respectfully. "I am Amardeep Huda, I wanted to introduce you properly to my Mummyji and Daddyji."

Naina's parents smile at Huda, he is obviously in love with their daughter, and they are relieved that Naina has agreed to settle down. They have accepted that Naina may never be able to prove Navin had been innocent, and have been worried that she wouldn't move on with her life until she did.

"Sure, Beta," Naina's father says, "Let's go meet them."

Huda leads the way and soon they are standing in front of his parents, both of whom are beaming with pride and happiness.

"Oy hoy," Huda's mother starts, "Kitni sohni kudi hai, now I know why my son has been so desperate to marry her." Naina touches Huda's parents feet and put a small smile on her face. "It's very nice to finally meet you properly, Uncle and Aunty."

Huda's mother then immediately starts on Naina's parents, "Well let's get down to business, I think we should set a date as soon as possible, I want this girl to be my son's fiancé before she changes her mind and rejects this naughty boy!"

"Mummyji, don't say that!" Huda scolds her, but Naina doesn't laugh at the joke, or even smile. Instead she simply looks down at the ground as if shy.

Within five minutes everything is settled, the engagement will be held in one week at Naina's house. When they began to discuss a date for the wedding too, Huda stops them, remembering Naina's request to him. "I think it's better if we both settle into our careers first, the wedding can come later." Naina looks at Huda gratefully, she is glad he hasn't forgotten his promise.

"Come on Phoolan," Huda tells her, "Let's go tell our friends the date so that they don't make any other plans. I would hate for Ali and Pooja to get engaged on the same day!"

Huda's mother watches them go thoughtfully. The girl is pretty and well mannered, but awfully quiet. It doesn't seem like the typical quietness of a shy bride to be but something else…

She silently scolds herself for being too imaginative and gets back to the business of planning an engagement.

/

They now have two months holiday before they are to start their duty. After graduation all of the cadets leave for their separate homes except for Aalekh, who has no home to go to. Instead he joins Yudi, to stay with him for a few days before Naina's engagement. Although Yudi's parents still don't know quite how to act around Aalekh, they have reluctantly accepted him as their future son-in-law. Neelu had miscarried the baby, and when Akash had come to the hospital to apologise to her the truth had been revealed, and they had finally realized how much Aalekh had done to protect their honour.

The moment that Naina arrives home, her parents start involving her in engagement preparations. She has to shop for an outfit, choose jewellery, approve the decorations, approve the catering, approve god knows what else.

"Bas, Ma…" Naina says on the second day after arriving back. "I'm tired of all this, I'm sure that whatever you choose for me will be fine."

Her parents are worried by her quietness, she doesn't seem to be excited in the way that a girl who is going to get engaged should be. But whenever they ask her about it, she makes excuses.

"I'm just tired, it's nothing to worry about. We only just finished our exams, then graduation, and now… really I'm very happy to be getting engaged, but please don't ask me to make all these decisions."

After that her parents leave her alone. When Naina doesn't have to sit with visitors who wanted to congratulate her, she often goes for walks or simply stays in her room.

Finally, two days before the engagement, Aalekh and Pooja arrive. It has been decided that they will be from the bride's side while Yudi and Ali will be from the groom's. Pooja immediately begins helping with the decorations and other preparations, endearing herself to Naina's parents even though they can't understand half of what she says.

Aalekh is happy to help set up, and is on his best behaviour around Naina's mother and father. They think that he is polite, but very quiet. Pooja laughs when she hears this description, quickly stopping before they can realize how far from the truth they are.

Aalekh has been watching Naina closely ever since the moment he arrived, looking for a sign that something isn't right. As he stand covertly observing her while pretending to put up flowers, Pooja taps him on the shoulder.

"You think something's not right, don't you?" she asks.

"Nahi to…" Aalekh trails off, not wanting to lie to Pooja but also not wanting to unnecessarily suspect Naina.

"Even I've been wondering why she suddenly agreed to get engaged to Huda. She rejected him for all these years and suddenly… no dating, no I love you call, just an instant connection." Pooja looks over to where Naina sits on the couch, patiently listening to some aunties tell her what a beautiful bride she is going to be. She looked… sedated. That is the only way to describe it. As if you could set off a bomb right now, and even then Naina wouldn't notice. "You try and find out what's going on, Qaidi," Pooja tells him, "You're the only one who can do it."

It is not until the afternoon of the day before the engagement that Aalekh has a chance to do so. Finally, almost all of the preparations are complete and there are no more visitors. He finds Naina sitting in her bedroom, staring at the mehendi on her hands.

"Want to go for a walk?" Aalekh asks.

They walk for half an hour in silence, until they have left the houses behind and are heading into a forest. Finally, Aalekh finds a suitable place and sits down on a log, beckoning Naina to sit down next to him.

"Naina, I know that it's hard for you. Navin isn't here to attend your engagement or to help you. But as long as I'm here, you will always have my support."

Aalekh watches Naina's eyes fill with tears at this statement and carefully takes her hand.

"Now, I want to know the truth. What's going on?"

It is then that everything which Naina has been holding inside herself bursts out. "Oh Aalekh," she sobs, "Believe me that I want to tell you, but…"

"But nothing, I swear that whatever it is, I won't tell a single other person." He looks into her eyes. "I swear on my mother."

Naina looks back in astonishment, amazed that he has made such a serious promise. She wipes her tears and calms herself.

"Fine then, Aalekh, I'll tell you, but you can never reveal anything that I'm about to say..."

And she tells him everything.

/

The next day everybody is up early to put the finishing touches on the house. Naina is strictly forbidden from doing any work, all she has to do is relax and get herself ready. Pooja notices that Aalekh looks less worried today and waits for an opportunity to speak to him.

"Oy Aalekh, did you manage any talktime with Naina? What's going on with her connection?"

"You don't worry, Punjaben." Aalekh tells her confidently. "Everything is fine, Naina was just upset because she's missing her brother."

"Oh," Pooja looks relieved to hear this. "I thought maybe it had something to do with Rajveer Sir, ever since he…" She stops as Aalekh gives her a sharp look.

"Whatever you do, don't mention that today."

Pooja nods, realizing her mistake. "I'll go and see how Naina's doing."

Finally the time of the engagement arrives. Huda, Ali and Yudi turn up together, along with Neelu who immediately leaves their side to go find Naina.

"Oy, Neelu," Huda says, annoyed, "I thought you were from my side."

"Get real, Huda," Neelu teases him, "I just said that so I could get a free ride here."

Pooja has been looking out the window of Naina's bedroom at the arriving guests. "Oh my ranjha Ali is looking so gorgeous tonight! I can't wait until it's our time to make our lifelong connection!" she sighs dreamily.

Naina smiles at her friend, "That day will come very soon, Pooja. I can't wait to see you and Ali finally get engaged."

"We've had so many different problems with our networks before they were able to work together, I'm just happy everything is finally sorted."

Neelu enters the room, coming over to greet them."Oh Naina, you look so beautiful! So do you Pooja, I can't wait until the boys get a look at you!"

Downstairs, Aalekh emerges to greet their friends. "Bole to… you're looking good… Nautanki." he says, looking Huda up and down. Ali and Yudi unsuccessfully try not to laugh at the look on Huda's face.

"Tu…" Huda starts, before calming himself down "But I'll bet you that Naina looks better."

Aalekh just smiles mysteriously, refusing to make any comment.

"Oh you've arrived! Welcome, welcome!" Naina's father exclaims, coming out to meet all of the guests, and shaking Huda's father's hand. "Sit down for a moment, we'll get you some drinks while we wait for the girls to come down."

"Yaar, how long do these girls take to get ready, I'm dying to catch a glimpse of my phoolan."

Huda doesn't have to wait long, as five minutes later Naina arrives downstairs along with Pooja and Neelu. As she comes to stand next to Huda he recovers from his momentary speechlessness, "Yaar, Phoolan, you're looking amazing!"

She smiles at him, good humour evident on her face. "You're not looking too bad yourself, Amardeep Huda."

Within a few minutes the ceremony is finished. They swap rings, feed each other sweets and then touch the feet of both sets of parents as the onlookers all clap and cheer. After it is done, Naina looks over at Aalekh. He nods at her approvingly as if to say 'good job'.

It is then that the real party starts as the music is turned on and the young people start to dance. Naina tries to refuse, but is dragged onto the floor by Pooja and Neelu.

Seeing that Huda is enjoying himself, his parents decide it is time for them to leave. It is the harvest season and they have to go back home so that they can get up early in the morning to start their work. They hug Huda goodbye, becoming emotional, before Huda's mother also gives Naina a quick hug and they leave with their guests.

It has been decided that the boys will stay together in a nearby guesthouse that night before going back in the morning, while Pooja and Neelu will stay in the guest room at the Ahluwalia's house.

The dancing and fun goes on until midnight and Pooja is relieved to see that Naina appears to be genuinely enjoying herself. Maybe Aalekh is right, maybe she had been missing her brother and it has nothing to do with… She notices Aalekh talking to Naina later in the night, Naina smiles and they hug each other then Aalekh is gone, back to dancing with Neelu.

At a little past midnight the party ends. Everyone happily says their goodbyes and as the boys begin to head towards the car, Naina stops Huda.

"Huda, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asks, motioning for him to step aside and join her.

"Of course, Phoolan," he replies happily. "From today I'm officially yours to do with as you wish!"

They walk a little distance from the others before she begins to speak. "Huda, you remember what I said when I agreed to marry you, right?"

"Of course I do, you're going to need some time before marriage." He thinks about it before adding, "You said there were some things you needed to do."

Naina nods. "Huda, I can't tell you anything else right now but…"

Huda frowns, concerned at how serious she is becoming.

"What is it Phoolan, what can't you tell me?"

"I promise that you'll find out when the time is right, Huda," she continues seriously. "But promise me that whatever happens, you'll trust that I'm doing the right thing."

"Oh yaar, of course I trust you. You're my Phoolan, you'll never do anything wrong."

Naina smiles, but there is a look in her eyes that Huda can't quite understand.

"Alright Phoolan, we'll go now. I'll see you in the morning."

"I'll see you, Huda." She tells him.

And he leaves for the car, waving at her as he goes.

/

The next morning the boys turn up at Naina's house early, around 9am. They are all used to getting up at 5am but had thought that they should let Naina's parents sleep in.

Huda walks into the house whistling happily, to find Pooja and Neelu in the kitchen with Naina's mother, 'helping' her to make breakfast.

"Oh no, Aunty," Yudi remarks with mock fear. "Please don't let Neelu anywhere near that fry pan unless you want us all to get food poisoning!"

"Bro!" Neelu exclaims, "That is not fair!"

"Let her be," Aalekh advises Yudi "Waisi bhi, she has to learn some time or I'll be stuck with all the cooking."

"So Auntyji, isn't Naina awake yet?" Huda asks as the bickering continues.

"Not yet, Beta." Naina's mother replies. "The preparations have been so tiring that we thought we should let Naina sleep in." She turns towards Pooja "Why don't you wake her up, otherwise you'll all have to wait for breakfast."

"Alright Aunty," Pooja replies, putting down the rolling pin she had been holding, untying her apron and going upstairs.

When she comes down a few minutes later she has a worried look on her face.

"Aunty…" she begins.

"Kya baat hai, beti?"

"I looked in Naina's room, but she wasn't there. So I thought maybe she's in the bathroom, but she wasn't there either, and…. Aunty I don't think Naina is anywhere in the house."

"What?"

"Kya?"

"Where is she then?"

"Kahaan gayi?"

Pooja's report is met by replies from almost everybody, only Aalekh remains quiet.

Huda runs upstairs, half believing it is a joke. But sure enough, Naina is nowhere in the house. She isn't in the garden, or down the street, or in the market.

There is no note, and nothing in particular seems to be missing. But Huda can't forget Naina's words from the night before.

"…Promise me that whatever happens, you'll trust that I'm doing the right thing."

She had told him that she would see him, she hadn't said in the morning…

But for whatever reason she has done it, the facts remained clear.

Naina Singh Ahluwalia is gone. Vanished without a trace.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

They all wait there for most of the day, thinking that she might come back. Everyone makes various excuses for where she might have gone, while knowing what the truth really is.

Naina has left without telling any of them.

Her parents had panicked at first, until Pooja calmed them down. "Naina knows what she's doing, she would have made her own decision to go."

While Naina's mother and father go to check the city one more time, the rest of the cadets sit down to talk about it.

"I know she's gone of her own will," Huda finally says, "When she agreed to get engaged she had talked about needing to do something before we got married. And then last night before we left, she had told me that I had to trust that what she was doing was right." He feels a burden lifted from his chest, having told them.

"But why would she have gone?" Ali asks, confused. "And the morning after her engagement… was it so necessary that she had to leave right now?"

Pooja has been sitting quietly for awhile, and suddenly leans forward "I think it has something to do with her brother, after all she never achieved her mission while we were at KMA, and Aalekh was saying that she had been feeling sad about Navin lately." Pooja looks towards Aalekh to support what she was saying.

"Haan," Aalkh replies shortly, "She was."

"Look Aalekh," Huda starts, clearly feeling frustrated, "If anyone here knows where she's gone or why she's gone, it's you. So if you know something then just say it."

"I don't know anything about this, Huda." Aalekh replies, stony faced.

"So if anybody were to know, then who would it be…" Pooja asks hypothetically, trying to think of some options.

"Well if it's about her brother, then maybe Captain Abhimanyu," Ali suggests helpfully. "I remember he was trying to help her find out the truth."

"No way, bro!" Yudi exclaims, "That was before, she'd never go to him for help now!"

"Why?" Huda asks, genuinely confused, as far as he knows, everything is fine between Naina and Captain Abhimanyu.

"You didn't see what happened before he left KMA." Yudi says knowingly.

"Well then why don't you hurry up and tell us, just speak clearly for once!" Huda practically yells, frustrated over the current situation.

"Well I didn't hear all of it, but when I was passing by his room the day that he left, I heard them having quite a large argument…"

"_Naina just listen, you're misunderstanding…"_

"_No Sir, I think that for the first time I'm understanding perfectly."_

"_I swear that I had no such intentions…."_

"_I know exactly what your intentions were, you put on such a good act as the concerned friend of my brother, didn't you!"_

"_But I…"_

"_Forget it, you never wanted to do anything for my brother, and neither will you do anything for Captain Rajveer… I know you very well now."_

"_Naina, I swear that,"_

"_No I swear, Sir, that I will never trust you again!"_

….

Yudi finishes his recount, "And that's all that I heard. But it makes me think that she definitely wouldn't be confiding anything to him."

"You're definitely right, Yudibhai," Ali says, "But what was she so angry at him about?"

"Who knows?" Yudi replies, "Only two people can tell us that, one of them's missing, and the other probably wouldn't."

"I just don't understand…" Huda begins, "If she needed to do something then why didn't she confide in us? Why didn't she ask for our help?"

"Bole to… Naina has always known what's she's doing, Huda. If she hasn't told you then there's a good reason for it."

"Just be careful, Qaidi," Huda tells him furiously, "Or I'll begin to suspect that you know more than you're saying."

"Just chill guys," Yudi breaks in, trying to play the peacemaker. "Well if we don't know where she's gone or what she's doing, and Captain Abhimanyu wouldn't, then who would?"

Only one name came to all of their minds, but surely that would be impossible…

Impossible or not, Huda isn't going to give up that easily.

He finally speaks up, sounding more confident than he feels about it.

"Then I'll go talk to Captain Rajveer."

/

Getting permission to see Captain Rajveer is somewhat difficult, but finally Huda is able to arrange a meeting. It is almost one week since Naina has vanished and he is almost going frantic with worry, and with the effort of keeping it from his parents. It has been decided that Naina's disappearance will be concealed from the general public for as long as possible, everyone hoping that she will return soon.

All of the friends headed back to their own houses the day after Naina's disappearance in order to make it appear as if everything was normal. Aalekh had arranged to rent a flat in Delhi for the next two months, as he didn't want to annoy Yudi's parents by overstaying his welcome there. As soon as he is given the appointment, Huda calls up Aalekh to tell him he is coming to Delhi and he will need a place to stay.

He makes excuses to his parents that he is going to visit his friend Aalekh for a few days and leaves on his motorbike. It takes him awhile to find his way to Aalekh's flat through the streets of old Delhi, but finally he makes it.

"You're here." Aalekh remarks, when he opens the door to see Huda standing there.

"What did you think, Qaidi? That I was joking when I said I was coming?"

Aalekh just shrugs and invites Huda in, the flat is fairly bare with only a double mattress on the floor and some pots and plates in the kitchen. It is obvious that it is only a temporary place for Aalekh to stay.

"Nice place." Huda comments, not really meaning it.

"It's not permanent," Aalekh tells him, "I'll go downstairs and get us some biryani for lunch."

The two boys sit on the edge of the mattress to eat their lunch, due to the lack of chairs.

"What time did you get the meeting for?" Aalekh asks Huda.

"Three pm, I'll go early though."

"Good idea."

They eat mainly in silence, and at one pm Huda decides it is time to go.

"Tell Sir hi from me." Aalekh tells Huda, "Say that his Qaidi hasn't forgotten him yet."

"I will," Huda promises, suddenly feeling nervous at the idea of seeing Captain Rajveer again after so many days, and in these circumstances…

In the end he manages to reach the place half an hour early, but by the time he'd enters the building and clears security there are only ten minutes left for the meeting. They leave Huda sitting in a waiting room until the exact time of the appointment, then call for him to go in.

"But remember," they tell him. "You have only fifteen minutes."

Huda hopes that fifteen minutes will be more than enough.

/

Huda steps into the room, he doesn't want to waste time, so he has prepared what he will say beforehand. Now words fail him.

"Sir…" he starts, and is unable to continue.

"Well, Huda. I was disappointed that I couldn't come to your graduation, but since my old cadets are coming to visit me here, I see I didn't need to worry."

But Huda just stares at him in shock, unable to say anything.

In the months since Huda last saw him, Captain Rajveer has changed completely. He has lost so much weight that his clothes hang off his frame. His hair is dull, and cut much shorter than it ever had been. The light which had once shone in his eyes is gone, replaced by a look that can only be described as resignation.

Slowly, Huda takes in the other features. The bruises that are clearly visible at different places on Captain Rajveer's skin, a fresh looking scar above his right eyebrow. The handcuff which attaches him to a leg of the metal table.

"Sir, you…." Huda hadn't known what to expect when he had come to the army prison. It certainly hadn't been this. "Sir, what have they done to you?"

Captain Rajveer gives a short, bitter laugh. "What did you expect Cadet Huda? This is what the Indian Army does to traitors."

"But Sir, you're not…" Huda doesn't finish saying it, because according to the army that's exactly what Captain Rajveer is. Then he realises what the Captain has just said. "Sir, it's not Cadet Huda anymore, it's Lieutenant Huda, or at least it will be when I join duty in two months time."

"I had forgotten," Raj says sadly, "I never saw you all graduate…" He tries to smile, and changes the subject. "So tell me, how are the rest of your friends?"

"They're all fine, Sir. I saw Aalekh before coming here. He told me to tell you that your Qaidi hadn't forgotten you."

Raj smiles genuinely then. "Qaidi? He was never Qaidi for me, he was always Aalekh. I knew that he would graduate successfully." He seems to hesitate before asking the next question. "And your Phoolan, are you still trying to win her over?"

"I already did, Sir." Huda informs him proudly. "We had our engagement a week ago."

Anyone not watching closely would think that Captain Rajveer had no reaction to this, as he remains sitting incredibly still, his features set. But his jaw clenches tightly, and a muscle next to his left eye twitches slightly.

After a moment's pause he manages to say to Huda, "Congratulations, you must both be very happy."

"We were, Sir."

"Were?"

"Sir…" Huda leans in over the metal table, trying to speak softly but knowing that their whole conversation is being monitored, "Phoolan is gone."

For a moment Captain Rajveer doesn't react, and then… "Gone? Gone where?"

"That's just it, Sir. Nobody knows. Sometime between when we left the house on the night of the engagement and when we turned up the next morning for breakfast, she disappeared."

"And did she tell you anything?"

"She said that I should trust her to do the right thing."

"Then do that, Huda." Raj tells him simply. "Trust her to do the right thing, and to come back to you when she's ready."

"But Sir… for her to just disappear like this, I mean…"

"Cadet Huda, have you thought that maybe there's a reason for her not to tell you she was going?"

Huda has thought about it, but still remains confused as to why it would be necessary.

"Sir, I came to you because I thought maybe you would know where she went, and what she's doing."

Rajveer laughs, not seeming to believe his ears. "Huda, I've been stuck in this prison for more than two months. Before that, I was on the run for over a month. And somehow you think that in this time, Naina has let me know why she's disappearing?"

It does sound ridiculous when he puts it like that, but Huda just can't shake the feeling that Captain Rajveer knows more than he is saying. "I suppose you're right, Sir."

"Don't worry, Huda. Naina will come back to you. She got engaged to you didn't she?" He sounds tired, sad. Huda wonders whether it is because he missed the engagement.

"I'll try to bring her to visit you when she gets back, Sir." He tells Rajveer, desperately wanting to cheer him up in some way.

"There's no point, Cadet Huda." Rajveer tells him, and Huda doesn't bother to try and correct him about the Cadet part. "I'm going to be transferred out of here within the next few days to Jammu. And then after that…"

"After that, Sir?"

"After that I'll get to see my friend Navin again." He tells Huda wryly, "Us traitors have a lot to catch up on."

Huda realises for the first time that Captain Rajveer is likely to be executed. He has trouble imagining a world where there's no Captain, and he thinks that world is likely to be a worse place. Tears come to Huda's eyes and he tries to control them unsuccessfully.

"Sir," Huda tells him, "I want to salute your courage."

"Don't do it too obviously," Rajveer replies, "Or they might arrest you too."

The guard opens the door and warns Huda that he only has one minute left of visiting time before he has to leave.

"Can I do anything for you, Sir?" he asks, desperate to do something for him, anything.

Rajveer thinks for a minute before replying. "Tell all of my cadets that I'm incredibly proud of them, I know they'll make wonderful soldiers for this country. They'll always have my blessings."

Huda can't stop himself now, he wants to start crying but knows he shouldn't, especially not here. "Sir, isn't there any way…"

"No Huda," Rajveer stops him. "There's not, but promise me that you'll do one more thing for me."

"Anything, Sir."

"Look after Naina. Always support her. Never let her feel that she's alone."

"I'll do it, Sir, you have my promise."

"Good," Raj replies, putting on his best attempt at a smile. "Then goodbye, Cadet Huda. It was nice knowing you."

Huda stretches out his hand to briefly clasp Captain Rajveer's before the guard comes to collect him. He glances back as the door closes, to see Captain Rajveer staring up at the ceiling, tears falling from his eyes.

/

Huda arrives back at Aalekh's place, subdued after his meeting with Rajveer Sir. He isn't sure what his feelings are but both his mind and heart are in turmoil. He wants to do something to save their Captain, but the power to do so is no longer in his hands. There are no more options left.

He knocks on the door, but there is no reply. Going back downstairs he asks the chai seller where Aalekh has gone, and is informed that he is at the PCO across the road.

Aalekh hasn't noticed Huda approaching him, he is so involved in his conversation. Huda has no idea who he is talking to, or what he is talking about since he can only hear Aalekh's side of the conversation.

"When did you find out?"

"So what now?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Done."

And Aalekh hangs up the phone, handing the fee over to the owner of the booth. Spinning around to head back to his flat, his expression when he sees Huda standing there is one of surprise, and perhaps…nervousness.

"When did you arrive back?" Aalekh asks.

"Just now, I was told you were at the PCO."

"Fine," Aalekh replies, "Let's go back to my place and you can tell me about the visit."

Suspicion nags at Huda's mind, it couldn't have been…

"Aalekh, who was on the phone?" Huda asks, wanting to clear his doubts.

The slightest hesitation, and then. "Neelu. She's missing me."

"So what did she just find out about?"

"Her college scores."

"You didn't sound very romantic on the phone." Huda knows he is sounding suspicious, but he can't help it.

Aalekh stares at Huda as if he thinks he's an idiot. "Do I look like the type to waste my time on stupid ishk-vishk type conversations?"

Huda laughs then, realising that he is doubting Aalekh for no reason. After all, if Naina was trying to stay hidden then why would she have called someone? 

"Chal," Aalekh says, "Let's go upstairs."

/

Huda tells Aalekh about everything he had discussed with Captain Rajveer, and when he is done he notices the anger burning in Aalekh's eyes.

"How can they treat Sir this way…" Aalekh spits out, "I swear that if I meet any of them…"

"Look Aalekh, we can't do anything." Huda tells him, "I wish we could, but he's going to be transferred soon, and how much influence do any of us have?"

"Exactly," Aalekh replies bitterly, "So then we'll all just give up."

"But I thought that maybe he wasn't telling me something. I mean, maybe he hasn't had any contact with Naina, but he's the one that's most likely to know what she's trying to do." Huda has been frustrated by the lack of information he had managed to find today, and his own helplessness.

Once again, Aalekh gives Huda the look that says he thinks he is an idiot. "And did you ever think that maybe there was a reason he didn't want to tell you?"

"Like what? Why would he keep it from me?"

"Do you not realise that they were watching your conversation, Huda?" Aalekh asks, "Why do you think you got permission to meet him so easily? They wanted you to see him and get information out of him!"

Once Aalekh has said it, Huda feels like a fool. Why hadn't he thought about it? Why hadn't he realised that he was setting himself and possibly Rajveer Sir up for a trap by going in there?

"But why would those people want to know about Naina?"

"Who knows? But Huda, I want to give you some advice. Stop looking for her." Aalekh's eyes burn with the seriousness behind his statement. "Just let her do what she needs to, if you keep this up then you might endanger her mission."

"So just like that, I should give up? I shouldn't care where she's gone or why she's gone or why she didn't tell me anything? I shouldn't wonder why she doesn't want my help?" His frustration has been building up for days, simmering under the surface And it has reached its tipping point. "I love her, yaar! I can't just sit here while she's out there somewhere, maybe in danger."

"How much do you love her?"

"Why are you asking that, Qaidi? You know how much I love her, I'd do anything for her!"

Aalekh's expression is clouded, "Would you die for her?" he asks Huda seriously.

"Of course."

"Would you give her up?"

Huda is shocked by this question. "Why should I give her up? Phoolan is mine, and she always will be. Who should I give her up to?"

Aalekh doesn't answer Huda's question, instead he asks him another one. "Would you go to jail for her?"

Huda is getting more and more confused, he has no idea what Aalekh is trying to prove. Did he honestly doubt that Huda loved Naina? "What are you asking yaar, what's the point of all these questions?"

Aalekh holds up a hand as if to tell Huda just to listen. "One final question, Huda. Just one more."

"Then hurry up and ask it, this isn't 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'!"

Aalekh pauses, letting the silence and then tension build up. "Would you be willing to have the entire country believe you were a traitor?" he leans forward, and Huda can't escape from his gaze. "Only for Naina's sake?"

Huda wants to pretend that he doesn't know what Aalekh is saying. He wants to pretend that Aalekh is wrong. He wants to live his life in ignorance, not knowing what has always been right in front of his eyes.

"I don't know what you're saying, Qaidi." Huda replies, trying to fool himself that it is true.

"Then think about it a bit more," Aalekh tells him and gets up, headed towards the door.

"Oy, where are you going?"

"To get some dinner." Aalekh replies, picking up his wallet on the way out. "Think about it while I'm gone, I hope you've got an answer when I come back."

And he walks out, closing the door behind him.

Huda is so busy trying not to think about Aalekh's question, that he doesn't even realise when half an hour has passed. It is only when Aalekh had been gone an hour, that Huda begins to wonder where he is. Heading downstairs, he once again asks the man selling chai if he had seen where Aalekh had gone. The man just shrugs, and points in the opposite direction to the nearby market.

Huda heads upstairs, hoping that he is wrong. Aalekh must be giving him some time to think… He would be back before too long.

Two hours later, Huda can't fool himself anymore. Aalekh's silence at Naina's house, the phone call earlier today, the questions just now.

"I hope you've got an answer when I come back." Aalekh had said.

But when was that going to be?

One week after Naina Singh Ahluwalia had vanished, Aalekh Sharma is also gone.

Huda's options for answers were running out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

_One week earlier…_

Naina leaves the house at 3am, after everybody else has fallen asleep. She takes almost nothing with her except for two changes of clothes and some money. Heading towards the bus station she arrives one hour before the bus to Mumbai is scheduled to leave. She travels for only four stops with the bus before she gets out.

Here is where Naina makes her first change, swapping her modern clothes for a sari, a mangalsutra and a sindoor, and then waiting for her next bus. With this bus she travels for a total of three hours before once again getting out. This time when Naina changes it it into a traditional looking salwar kameez, the mangalsutra off and sindoor rubbed out. Pulling the dupatta over her head, she sets off for the train station and buys a ticket to Delhi. Nobody gives a second glance. With her outfit, her lack of makeup and her downcast gaze, she doesn't stand out compared to any other girl. Once the train has left, Naina sips a cup of chai and mentally goes over her plan again. Even then she is on alert, looking out for anybody suspicious, anybody who seems to be watching her. But so far everything is going according to plan, and at 9am, she supposes her parents might even assume she is still asleep in her own bed.

There are many reasons why Naina became the best cadet of KMA. Besides her excellent performance in drills, her mind has always been exceptionally sharp. For the last two months she has painstakingly planned her moves, going over pros and cons, working out where the dangers lie and how she will overcome them. For two months she has planned in secret, never once telling anything to her fellow cadets and friends. The only person who knows the truth now is Aalekh, and she is glad of that. He has given her the details of friends he had in Delhi who will be able to help her with some of her problems.

Hours later when the train finally arrives, Naina gets down quickly and leaves the station. She visits a market and buys the plainest, most traditional salwar kameez she can find, inserting a false nose ring once she changes. She swaps her fashionable shoes for some ordinary sandals.

Her preparations finally complete, Naina leaves to find Aalekh's friends. She needs fake documents in order to hide her identity, and they will be able to provide them. Her new ID, one of several, lists her as Adilah Khan, daughter of Jalil Khan.

Naina's work in Delhi is completed within a day, and she is determined to leave as soon as possible. Although she hasn't had any sleep, she needs to get moving before somebody catches up to her. She is headed to Hyderabad next, but will be changing direction three or four times before she reaches there. Everything is planned, and she knows where she will have to change and when the connecting bus or train leaves. Settling into the berth of her first train for what will be a six hour trip, Naina immediately falls sleep. She needs to conserve her energy for what lies ahead.

/

One week later, Naina is in Ahmedabad when she hears the news. She is checking the temporary email account she has set up, something she only does very cautiously, and that too when she is about to leave a city. She is shocked by the message she has received. Naina had thought that she would have more time, that her mission would be accomplished before there was any real danger. But there on the screen in front of her, it is spelled out in black and white: Transfer to Jammu has been arranged. It will happen on Friday.

The words chill Naina's blood. Transferring him to Jammu means that they are getting ready to execute him. She can't have come this far only to fail, her mission pointless with him dead. Her plans will have to change, the next step will have to wait until she has found a solution to this.

Naina crosses to a nearby PCO and dials a number she has learnt by heart, too scared to carry it on her in case she is caught.

"Hello?"

"Please call Aalekh Sharma to the phone."

"And who are you?"

"Tell him that it's Basanti." It is a code that they had worked out earlier, partially due to Aalekh's love of Sholay and partially because anyone would suspect that it was just a girlfriend of Aalekh's calling without wanting to give her real name.

Within a minute, Aalekh is on the other end of the line. "Ha, bol. Tu kaisi ho?"

"I'm fine Aalekh, but there's been a problem."

"What is it?"

"Captain Rajveer is due to be transferred to Jammu this Friday, we need to do something."

"When did you find out?"

"Just ten minutes ago, Bunty emailed me the information. Thank god we have him."

"So what now?"

"Can you meet me? I need your help with this, I can't do it alone. I think you know what it is we have to do."

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Good, meet me in Ajmer tomorrow night an hour before prayers start, outside the Shrine. We'll offer some flowers."

"Done."

And Aalekh hung up.

Naina takes a deep breath, they only have five days to come up with a plan to save Captain Rajveer before he can be taken to Jammu. She wishes that it hadn't happened so soon, just a few more weeks and she could've won him his freedom. But the circumstances have changed, and the plan has to change alongside. Naina leaves to buy the ticket for the first part of her trip, there is a bus to Udaipur leaving in an hour and she intends to be on it.

/

Aalekh travels towards Ajmer on a bus, looking resolutely out the window at the landscape. Gone are his usual clothes, replaced by a man's salwar kameez and a prayer cap on his head. He is glad that he hadn't bothered to shave for a few days because it makes him look more authentic. Everybody else on the bus will assume him to be just another pilgrim to Ajmeri Baba's Dargah.

Aalekh feels bad about leaving Huda behind in Delhi like that, but he hadn't had any other option. If he had waited until the morning to leave then he would've risked being late to meet Naina, and he didn't want to risk Huda following him either.

He just hopes that some of what he had said before he left has sunk into Huda's thick head. He thinks of the conversation he had with Naina a little over a week ago, just before her engagement. After she had told him of her plans, Aalekh had promised to support her, and given her the names of his friends that could help her. It was then that he'd asked her the question that he'd been wanting to know the answer to all along.

"But why are you getting engaged to Huda?"

Naina hadn't looked at him as she replied, instead she had stared down at the log they were sitting on, drawing patterns on the bark with her finger.

"Nobody will expect me to leave straight after the engagement," she told him, "It's the perfect cover for getting away."

"Then you're not really going to marry Huda?"

"I am." Naina had replied simply, "The engagement is cover for my getaway but it's still real. Once my mission is accomplished, I'll marry him whenever he wants."

"Naina," Aalekh had said pleadingly, and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. "I know that you don't love Huda, so why are you doing this?"

Naina had steeled her expression, shutting off any emotions she might have been feeling. "I've made my decision, Aalekh." She had told him, "And I'm not going to change it."

Aalekh knows it is pointless to try to change her mind, so the only option he has left is to try and make Huda see some sense before it is too late.

Two hours later, he meets Naina in front of the shrine. She is already carrying some flowers, and despite wanting to hug her with relief, he silently walks inside with her to offer them. Both of them offer their own prayers for the success of the mission and then exit quickly. They have walked for one kilometre before Naina finally speaks.

"I've brought you a change of clothes," she tells him. "We'll change in this hotel and then be on our way."

When they come out of the bathrooms, both look like typical hippies, Naina wearing a loose skirt and blouse, and Aalekh some roughly woven pants and a loose shirt.

"Where are we going now?" he asks her.

"Pushkar," Naina replies. "We need to blend in. We'll stay there for a few days while we work out our next plan."

And stepping outside, they order a taxi to take them to their next destination.

/

_Four days later_…

Ali is happy, well at least as happy as he can be under the present circumstances with two of his friends apparently missing.

Before graduation his parents and Pooja's parents had spoken to one another and decided that before any engagement would be organised, each of them should first get to know their child's choice of a life partner. At the graduation it had then been decided that after Naina and Huda's engagement, Pooja should head back to Kanpur with Ali to spend a couple of weeks with his family, after which Ali would go to Pooja's house to spend a couple of weeks with her family. In this way, the two families hoped that they could overcome the cultural and religious differences between them.

Ali and Pooja had briefly discussed calling the plan off when Naina had vanished, but when her parents had asked them not to reveal it to anyone they had decided it would be best to continue as normal. The long trip to Kanpur had been a good opportunity for Ali and Pooja to spend some time alone, something that they wouldn't be able to do for the next month.

So far everything is going perfectly. From the time of her arrival, Pooja has made a full effort to impress his family, and it is working. She spends time with his Ammi, helping her to cook and listening to stories about Ali's childhood. She sits with his Abu, listening to his stories about his time in the army. She gossips with Ali's four remaining sisters, discussing hair and makeup, school, college and boys. Even Ali's eldest sister, who is living with her husband, had loved Pooja when she came over to visit. Ali is happy, but also nervous about going to Pooja's house in a few days time. He only hopes that her parents and relatives are as impressed by him, as his family has been by her.

Ali has just finished getting dressed for the day when he hears a knock on the door, and his mother's footsteps going towards it. As he closes his cupboard, he hears the sound of the front door being opened and his mother's polite, "Aap?"

"Ji, Auntyji," comes an unmistakable voice, "Is Ali home?"

Huda has arrived

/

Ali quickly hurries down the stairs, worried about why Huda is here. The last time he'd heard from him was a phone-call to say that Aalekh had disappeared. Now four days later, he's turned up at Ali's house. Ali just hoped that it didn't mean yet another of their friends had vanished.

"Hudabhai, aap?" he asks, reaching the living area where Huda is sitting.

Ali's mother looks at him questioningly, she is confused as to why one of Ali's friends has turned up unannounced.

"Ammi, I'll just talk to Huda." Ali tells her, and nodding she leaves for the kitchen. The two boys are silent until she has brought some chai for them and then left the room.

"Huda what are you doing here?" Ali finally asks, confused as to why he has turned up.

"Ali, I've got no options left." Huda tells him, looking tired. "I tried to go home and just relax, but I can't forget about this mystery. I need to find out what's going on, and I need to find out as soon as possible."

"So how am I supposed to help you?" Ali asks.

"You're not," Huda replies, "Pooja is. When I called her house, her parents said she was here. She was Naina's room mate, maybe she knows something that she hasn't told me yet, or that she had forgotten."

"Well maybe, but…"

Just then Pooja walks into the room, dressed in a salwar kameez. "Arre wah, Huda. So now your missed call has arrived here!"

"Wow Punjaben, you're looking nice in these clothes." Huda tells her.

"Of course I am," Pooja says giggling, "And all for my Ranjha! After all, I should look like a proper Heer, shouldn't I?"

Settling down on the couch beside Ali, she looks at Huda expectantly, wondering why he is here.

"Actually, I've got something to tell you both," Huda says quietly, "Something I couldn't say on the phone. Maybe we should go for a walk."

Ali nods and the three leave the house quietly, heading towards a quiet café up the road. They sit at a table in the furthest corner, and Huda doesn't tell them anything else until their drinks have arrived and the waiter has left.

"When I was in Delhi, I went to see Captain Rajveer."

"How is he?" Pooja asks, sounding worried.

"He's not good. Those bastards haven't been treating him well."

Both Ali and Pooja's faces reflect their anger at this, neither love their Captain any less for the charges levelled at him, nor have they believed it for a moment.

"So did you find out anything from him?" Ali asks, wanting to change the topic before Pooja becomes upset.

"No," Huda says, sighing with disappointment. "He told me that when he'd been in jail for two months and on the run for a month before that, how was he supposed to know where Naina was, when he hadn't even talked to her in that time."

"But that's not true!" Pooja exclaims, "He…" then suddenly she claps both her hands over her mouth as if she'd let out something she shouldn't have.

Huda stares at her, his suspicion had been correct, Pooja definitely knows something that she hasn't told them.

"Look Punjaben," he says to her seriously, "I don't know why you've been hiding this, but tell me what it is right now. It could affect more than one life."

"Alright," Pooja responds, looking slightly guilty, "I had promised Naina that I wouldn't say anything, but I think the circumstances are such that…" And she begins to recount what she knows.

/

That night Pooja had woken to low voices in her room. She didn't know why she didn't call out, but instead she had lain still, opening her eyes to see what was happening. There on Naina's bed sat Captain Rajveer, and they appeared to be discussing something.

"…Don't trust him." Was the first thing that she heard, whispered by Rajveer Sir. "And remember, don't do anything until after your graduation. They shouldn't suspect that you know where it is."

"But Sir, what are you going to do now, it's dangerous for you."

"Naina," he had whispered to her, "Don't worry about me. Whatever happens just make sure that you complete this mission. My life isn't important, what we need to accomplish is."

"Sir…" Naina had whispered back, distress evident in her voice. "Don't talk like that, nothing will happen to you. Nothing can happen to you."

He had touched her cheek lightly as if to comfort her, and then abruptly taken away his hand. "I'll try to make sure that nothing happens to me, but Naina, no matter what, don't do anything to give yourself away. Remember your mission." And he had turned to go.

Naina had thrown her arms around him, hugging him hard. "Be safe, Sir." She had told him a bit tearfully, "Just stay out of their reach until I manage to…"

He had held her to him for a moment, and then he kissed her forehead. "Good luck, Naina." He had told her, "I trust you." And he had climbed back out the window.

Hearing her friend's tears, Pooja had called out to her in a whisper, "Naina, what…"

Naina had turned, shocked that Pooja was awake and had heard their conversation.

"Pooja, how much did you hear?" she asked with urgency, and Pooja felt compelled to tell the truth."

"From when he said 'Don't trust him'."

"Pooja," Naina had said seriously, "Promise me that you will never tell anyone what you heard tonight. This is very important, Captain Rajveer's life depends upon it."

And Pooja had promised.

The next day Captain Rajveer had been arrested a hundred kilometres away from KMA. Nobody had ever assumed that he might have been there the night before.

/

When Pooja finishes the story, they all sit there in silence trying to put the clues together. If anything, Huda is even more confused than before.

Captain Rajveer had been on the run for a month before he was arrested, Huda had never assumed that he had come back to KMA and spoken to Naina. He had talked to her about a mission, about Naina knowing where something was, and about not trusting somebody.

Pooja's recount has raised more questions than it has given answers.

Completely and utterly confounded, Huda has no idea what to do next. He turns to Ali.

"Ali, do you think that I could stay with you for a couple of days until I figure this out?"

Ali sighs. "I'll tell Ammi to put an extra mattress in my room."

/

Meanwhile, in a small town somewhere near Delhi…

Aalekh and Naina go over their plan for the next day one more time, making sure that they have everything they need. They had the clothing, the equipment, the details and times, they also have a very dangerous plan.

Going over it mentally, Aalekh suddenly turns to Naina, "Bole to… I think we need one more person for this."

"You're right," Naina sighs, "Two people really aren't enough for this plan, three would make more of a difference. But who?"

Aalekh thinks about it, turning the options over in his mind. "It has to be someone we can trust."

"More than that, it has to be someone they wouldn't expect us to call on." Naina adds, "So that we can be sure nobody will follow them."

Suddenly Aalekh's eyes light up, as he works out who they should call. Naina knows exactly what it is he is thinking and nod, smiling.

"Go and call," she tells Aalekh, "And tell this much of the plan…"

Aalekh nods once he has understood and goes down the road to the nearest PCO. He dials the number quickly, having learnt it by heart.

"Hello?" he says into the receiver, "Could you go and call Yaduvansh Sahni to the phone for me?"

And then he waits.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_24 hours later…_

Ali, Pooja and Huda are all playing carom with Ali's youngest sister when they hear a knock on the door. Thinking that it must be one of his mother's friends, Ali asks Gul if she can go and answer it, promising not to continue the game until she comes back. The four of them are home alone, as the rest of the family have gone to visit his married sister's house. Gul rushes off, not wanting to be away for too long. Less than a minute later she is back.

"Bhaijaan, it's for you." She tells him sweetly, and sits back down at the carom table.

Confused, Ali heads towards the door. He can't think of anybody that would be coming to visit him unless it is one of his old school friends.

Ali stops, staring at the open door in amazement, and especially at the person standing there.

"Chief!" Yudi exclaims happily, "Aren't you going to invite me inside?"

"Of course…" Ali replies, still having no clue why Yudi has turned up at his house.

But Yudi just walks inside, a small backpack slung over one shoulder, and heads to the room where the rest of their friends are.

"Guys!" he calls out, "A rainy day, carom, all that was missing was me!" And he sits down to play.

"Uh, Yudibhai…" Ali starts, "It's wonderful for you to visit my home, but what are you actually doing here?"

"Well…" Yudi draws the word out as he spins a carom piece around. "Huda told me that he was coming to visit you, and I thought I might as well come and join the fun too."

Suddenly, a thought strikes Huda. "So Yudi, don't tell me that you're fine with your sister's boyfriend disappearing with my fiancée."

"Chill bro," Yudi tells him calmly, "If Neelu doesn't have a problem then why should I? If you haven't understood the bond between Naina and Aalekh by now then you never will." And he turns back to the game.

Twenty minutes later, after Yudi has dropped his bag to Ali's room and refreshed himself, he suddenly speaks up again. "By the way guys, if anybody asks… then I arrived here late last night, around eleven pm."

"Yudi, what are you talking about?" Pooja asks him, "You only got here twenty minutes ago."

"Still, Pooja. Just remember that I arrived at eleven pm last night."

Pooja shakes her head as if she is having trouble working out what Yudi is trying to say.

They spend the rest of the day pleasantly, until around 2pm there is another knock at the door.

This time Ali is certain it can't be for him, all of his friends that aren't currently missing are sitting in this room. But one minute later, Gul comes back. "Bhaijaan, it's for you."

Pooja and Huda gave each other curious looks, wondering who it could be this time. Yudi is the only one who doesn't seem to care who is at the door, not even looking up from the magazine he is reading.

Ali returns to the room, but he isn't alone. Along with him are two army officers, one of whom is Abhimanyu Rai Chauhan, the other is female.

"So…." Abhimanyu drawls, "The gang's all here."

"Abhimanyu Sir, what are you doing here?" Pooja asks, confused as to why he has turned up at Ali's house.

"Well," he starts, staring at them with a look that borders on suspicion. "Somebody will be visiting all of your houses today, we hadn't known that you were all here."

"But why, Sir?"

"I'd like to ask where you all were at 3am this morning." He stands back, waiting for an answer.

Ali remembers Yudi's words from earlier, something tells him he shouldn't reveal that Yudi hadn't been with them. "We were all asleep, Sir, why?"

"All of you? Why is everybody currently at your house, Ali Begh?"

"Well Sir, Pooja is staying here so that she can get to know my family. Huda arrived because he wanted the support of his friends at the moment."

"And you, Yudi?"

"Well when Huda said he was coming here, I thought I might as well come too. After all, he needs his friends right now. I arrived quite late last night, Sir." He turns to his friends then, "What time was it guys, around eleven right?"

Ali is amazed at how well Yudi is lying, this couldn't be the same boy who failed Dr Mishra's lie detector test in first year.

"Oh really." Abhimanyu looks suspicious, but moves on. "So Huda needs support at the moment. I had heard, Huda, that your fiancée Naina Singh Ahluwalia is currently missing, that she has vanished without a trace."

Huda doesn't like the tone in Abhimanyu's voice, but he answers anyway. "That's right, Sir." He answers more confidently than he feels, "But she'll be back any day now."

"And where's your other friend, Aalekh Sharma, has he gone missing as well?" Abhimanyu asks, Huda is about to speak up when Yudi interrupts him.

"Where did you get that idea from, Sir?" he asks, "Aalekh's not missing, in fact he's gone with my sister Neelu for a holiday before he has to join duty."

Huda tries not to look shocked, this wasn't what he'd been expecting, and it certainly isn't true.

"And can you prove this?"

"Well, Sir, you can always call my sister and ask her, but she doesn't always pick up her phone. I think he'll be bringing her back in a few days anyway."

"If you don't mind, Sir." Ali interrupts, "Why are you asking us all of these questions?"

"Because, Ali," Abhimanyu replies, his eyes narrowing, "At 3am this morning, some people helped Captain Rajveer to escape while he was being transferred to Jammu."

Pooja gasps, the sound more happy than shocked. The rest of them look at Abhimanyu with genuinely dumbfounded expressions.

"We know that one of the people who helped him is Naina Singh Ahluwalia," he continues, "So don't even try to make excuses for her. At the moment we don't have proof as to who the others were, but as you're all here and if Aalekh is also accounted for…" He seems like he doubts this last point, but he can't argue when he has no proof. "Anyway, if you see either Naina Singh or Captain Shekawat, you are to inform Military Intelligence immediately, there are orders to arrest both of them on sight. If you see Aalekh Sharma then tell him we're waiting to talk to him. That's all for now."

Abruptly he and the other officer leave without a farewell. Huda can't react he is so shocked. Naina has helped Captain Rajveer escape… she is now a wanted criminal in the eyes of the law. He can't believe she has done something like this, and she couldn't have done it alone. But who had helped her? Yudi had said that Aalekh was with Neelu, but Aalekh…

Turning to Yudi accusingly, Huda begins to question him. "Look Yudi, tell me now and tell me clearly, what the hell is going on here?"

And a broad smile spreads across Yudi's face.

/

"Alright, guys," Yudi starts, waiting until Ali's sister has left the room. "It happened like this…"

_24 hours previously…_.

Quite frankly, Yudi is confused. When he has both a mobile and a phone in his home, he has no idea why anybody would want to call him at the PCO down the road. Apparently the man from the PCO doesn't either, as he had looked at Yudi suspiciously when he came to take his call, as if to say that he looked far too rich to be receiving calls at PCO's.

"Hello?" Yudi says into the phone curiously.

"Listen, Nautanki." Aalekh's voice on the other end of the line is unmistakeable, "Make sure that nobody is listening to what we're saying and don't say anything that would reveal what we're talking about."

Glancing around to make sure the owner of the booth is busy with another customer, Yudi whispers into the phone "Aalekh, where the hell are you? And where's Neelu? She left a note saying that she was with you, but then Huda said…"

"Chup, Nautanki!" Aalekh tells him harshly, "We don't have much time and I'm not going to answer your questions now. We need your help, now tell me, are you in or are you out?"

Yudi guesses that the 'we', means Aalekh and Naina, but he has no idea what they need help with, or why they'd call him of all people.

"Help with what?" he asks quietly.

"I can't tell you that over the phone, either you agree or you don't." Aalekh's tone changes, becoming more serious. "Yudi, today is the day that you fulfils all your promises of friendship. Today is the day that you pay back all your debts to your Guru. We need you, Yudi."

Suddenly Yudi begins to understand what Aalekh is talking about. All of these years he has been waiting for a chance to prove himself. Would this be the day? Would he finally be able to say that he was a man?

"I'm in." He tells Aalekh, "Now what do I have to do."

"Go home and tell you family that you're leaving to go to Huda's house." Aalekh says.

Yudi interrupts him, "Huda has gone to Ali's house, does that effect this?"

There is a moment of silence as Aalekh thinks about it, "Okay, tell them that you're going to Ali's house. Give any excuse. Then take your car and drive towards Kanpur, once you're out of town, take a different road and head to Jalandhar. When you're about to reach Jalandhar there should be a signpost saying that you're 5km away. Stop the car and wait there. Oh, and make sure you're there by 5pm today and that nobody follows you."

"Alright," Yudi says, "But then what…" But Aalekh has already hung up the phone. Yudi takes a deep breath, half afraid of what lies ahead but knowing that he can't let down his friends.

Yudi follows Aalekh's instructions perfectly, knowing that whatever else he might be, Aalekh is extremely clever.

He arrives at the signpost two hours early and pulls off the road, preparing himself for a long wait. But he needn't have worried, almost as soon as he pulls up, he sees Aalekh step out of the trees, motioning him forward. Yudi drives up to the edge of the forest and then a little way into it up a small path, so that the car is partially hidden.

Stepping out of the car, he hugs Aalekh. "Chief!" he says happily, "I was worried when you disappeared like that!"

Then Naina steps out from among the trees and Yudi realises his suspicions have been correct, Aalekh really had gone to help Naina with something.

"Naina, man is it good to see you! It feels like it's been ages!" Naina steps forward with a smile and gives Yudi a warm hug.

"It's good to see you too, Yudi." She tells him, "I'm glad you decided to come and help us."

"How can I refuse to help my friends in need?" Yudi asks, sounding far more brave than he actually feels. "But uh, what are we actually here to do?"

"We're here to rescue Captain Rajveer." Naina says, and starts to walk off.

Yudi is left standing there with a look of surprise on his face.

"Chal, Nautanki." Aalekh tells him, "We've got a long way to go."

/

"Are you guys kidding me? What sort of a plan is this?" Yudi is shocked and wondering what he has gotten himself into. "We can't just go around blowing things up!"

"Yudi, I asked whether you were in or out, and you said you were in."

"But you didn't tell me we'd be breaking the law!"

"You didn't ask. And I thought it was pretty obvious when I called you."

"Look Yudi," Naina interrupts them. "There's still time, you can change your mind and go home, or even better, go to Ali's house. But we need your help, this plan is going to work much better with three people. And I promise you that nobody will ever find out what you've done if we all follow the plan correctly."

It is a little after 8pm and they are sitting in the forest a little way outside of a town called Pathankot on the road to Jammu. They arrived there in another car, which Aalekh said he had 'borrowed' from somebody. Yudi doesn't want to know what the truth is.

After hearing their plan, Yudi is wavering. He hadn't expected it to be this dangerous.

"Yudi," Naina says, her tone practically pleading with him "It's for Rajveer Sir. After everything that he's done for all of us, can't we do this much for him?"

"Yes Naina, but…"

"If we don't do this, then he's going to be executed." Naina tells him the truth plainly, it is enough to shake Yudi free of his fear. Rajveer Sir… who has always been there for them, supported them, encouraged them. Rajveer Sir, who had stopped him from committing suicide and taught him to be a true soldier.

Yudi makes up his mind, today will be the day that he pays Rajveer Sir back for everything he's done, today will be the day that he finally does something worthwhile. Today will be the day that he becomes a man.

/

They take turns to sleep, in KMA they had learnt how to fall asleep and wake up easily, as in war time you have to take whatever sleep you can get. According to the information that Bunty Chaubey had managed to get to them, the truck would be passing by at about 3am. They already have all the gear they need with them, Aalekh and Naina had been prepared. Yudi isn't sure where they could've managed to get a hold of some of the items until Naina explains that they have some contacts who have been helping.

By 1am, everybody is awake and ready to go. Their only worry is that the van will be late and arrive at a time when there are likely to be more cars on the road. By 2am they split up, leaving with their respective equipment to sit in their assigned places. They are to communicate through walkie talkies, Aalekh is further down the road, in the direction of Delhi so that he can give them advance warning of when the truck will be coming. Yudi is further up, in place with the explosives. Naina is somewhere in between the two of them, ready for her part in the plan.

They have made the plan carefully, so that there will be as little chance as possible of somebody being injured. After all, they don't want to kill the soldiers transporting Captain Rajveer, they are just men doing their job who probably don't know what is really going on.

Finally at 2:55am, Yudi hears Aalekh's voice on the walkie talkie. "They're on their way, everybody get ready. I'm moving into my second position."

This is followed by Naina's voice, sounding almost unnaturally calm. "Yudi, get ready. But remember, only press the button when I tell you to."

Yudi crouches there in the dark, sweating despite the cold weather. The trigger to the explosives is in his hand, and a gun is slung over his shoulder. He is ready, but will everything go according to plan?

In the distance he can hear the rumble of the truck's engine as it grows closer.

"Ready Yudi," Naina voice comes through the walkie talkie again, "On my signal, one…" The truck rounds the corner, its headlights bright in the dark night, "Two…" The truck continues to come closer and closer, "Three! Now, Yudi!"

Yudi presses the button, and barely fifteen metres in front of the transport van, the road explodes.

/

Raj has been dozing inside the van, almost tired enough to sleep despite the chains binding his hands and feet. There is only one guard in the back with him, while there are two in the cabin of the van. He is exhausted by everything, exhausted by life. Under the circumstances, he is almost glad that he is heading towards his execution. He has accomplished his mission, within a matter of weeks Naina will be able to compete her task. It is another matter that he won't actually be around to witness it.

His eyes are just closing for the tenth time when suddenly he hears a loud noise that sounds like an explosion and the truck screeches to a stop. The soldier with him in the back immediately grabs his gun, looking at Rajveer accusingly, but Raj just stares back at him, equally confused about what is going on. It can't be… No… Has somebody really come to get him just when he'd given up all hope of living?

/

As soon as the truck screeches to a stop, Naina and Aalekh spring into action, shooting out the tires as Yudi runs towards his next position. Now the van is effectively trapped, unable to move. Naina can see the soldiers reaching for their guns, and knows it is time to enter the next phase of the plan.

"Guys, now!" she calls into her walkie talkie, and automatic gunfire rings out from three different directions, spraying the road around the truck. Immediately the soldiers in the front cabin crouch on the floor.

Coming to the side of the road but still hidden by the trees, Naina waits for the others' gun fire to finish, then she calls out in a clear, loud voice.

"We have you surrounded! Now throw your weapons out of the truck and come out with your hands on your heads, all of you!"

Obviously thinking that there are far more people ambushing them than there actually is, and seeing no other option, the two soldiers in the front hold a quick discussion and then throw their weapons out, before climbing down and standing on the road with their hands on their hands.

"And any of your friends in the back!" Naina calls out, relieved when the door to the back of the van opens and a firearm is thrown out, the guard climbing out after it. All of the soldiers stand there for a minute, not quite sure what to expect. Naina aims then fires. It is over so quickly that they never even realise they've been hit with tranquilliser darts when they pass out on the road.

Naina doesn't bother to pull her balaclava down, she has nothing to lose now even if they do see her face. She knows that she will immediately come under suspicion for this attack, the most important thing to ensure is that there is no evidence that Aalekh or Yudi have been involved.

"Guys, come down now." She tells them over the walkie talkie, "Make sure your faces are covered just in case."

She walks towards the guard who had come from the back of the truck, and searching him, finds a keyring. With agility she climbs up into the back of the truck to find an astonished Captain Rajveer sitting there with his chains still on.

In a matter of seconds she takes it all in. The weight that he has lost, the bruises visible on his face and neck, the air of defeat that surrounds him. And the look on his face is one of pure shock, as if this is the last thing he'd ever expected.

"What did you think, Sir?" Naina asks him, as she bends down to unlock him from his chains, "That after everything you've done for us, your cadets would abandon you?"

The look in his eyes changes from shock to one of grateful amazement as she undoes the last chain and Raj tries to get to his feet, but he is so weak that he has trouble standing by himself. Naina places his right arm over her shoulders and puts her left arm around his waist to lend him support, helping him out of the truck slowly. As they step onto the road, she notices that Aalekh and Yudi have already completed their job, moving the soldiers to the side of the road away from the truck. They still have their balaclavas down, so Raj can not immediately tell who they are, but he guesses by looking at the way they move and the shape of their bodies.

"Let's go," Naina says, "We need to get as far away as possible before anybody realises something is wrong."

They make their way into the forest, where Yudi and Aalekh pull their balaclavas off.

"Aalekh Sharma and Yaduvansh Sahni reporting for duty, Sir!" Aalekh tells him, and they both salute. If it had been a bit lighter then they might have seen the tears in Raj's eyes, but he is too weak and tired to be able to say anything to them. Instead he reaches out and pats them both on the shoulders.

Seeing that Naina is tiring under Captain Rajveer's weight, Aalekh and Yudi both move to take his arms over their shoulders, and together they stumble off into the night.

Their progress is relatively slow, but eventually they make it to the rendezvous point around five kilometres from the site of the ambush. Ten minutes pass, and then a truck pulls up and an older Sikh man climbs out. Nodding at them in recognition, he opens the back doors of the truck.

"This is our transport, Sir." Naina tells him quietly, and Aalekh along with the older man help Rajveer to climb into the truck. Turning to Yudi, Naina hands him a note. "Please give this to Huda for me, it will explain some things to him." Naina gives him a sad smile and then she hugs him. "Thank you for everything you've done, Yudi." She says. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Aalekh climbs out of the back of the truck. "Look after yourself, Naina." He tells her, "Be careful. And remember that whenever you need me you just have to make a call."

Naina nods, feeling truly emotional to be parting with her friends once again, this time not knowing how long it might be before they see each other again. "I'll miss you, Aalekh." She tells him, "Go and get Neelu quickly and then go back. We don't want anybody suspecting you." She gives him a long hug, and then with one last look at her two friends, she climbs into the back of the truck. The driver shuts the door behind them, climbing back into the truck's cabin and driving off.

Aalekh and Yudi turn to each other. They can't quite believe what they've just accomplished.

"Let's get out of here as soon as possible." Aalekh says, "I'll see you soon, Yudi."

/

When Yudi finishes telling his story, he looks around to see his friends staring at him with open mouths, similar looks of amazement on their faces.

Ali is the first one to speak. "Yudibhai, today I can say it with confidence. You really are a man."

They are the words that Yudi has been waiting two years to hear, but somehow they don't matter as much now as they once did. The mission that he has helped to accomplish is more worthwhile than any praise.

He thinks about Captain Rajveer and Naina, wondering where they are now. All Yudi knows for certain was that they have a long road ahead.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Inside the truck it is dark, only minimal natural light coming in from the outside; there are holes to let in air but it is still early in the morning, too early for any sunlight. Raj doesn't move from the spot he had sat in before the truck starting moving, afraid that he will end up injuring himself by tripping over something. He can hear movements in the darkness, Naina is rustling through her bag, looking for something. Finally she makes a sound as if she has been successful and there is light again as she switches on a small portable lamp.

They are wedged into a small space at the back behind crates, hidden so well that it would be impossible for anyone opening the back of the truck to spot them. In the dim light they stare at each other, neither quite believing that the other is really there. Naina examines Raj, taking in the bruises on his skin, aching to reach out and touch the scar above his eyebrow, to soothe the pain that she clearly sees written on his face. She clenches her hands in her lap, knowing that such an action is impossible. She has no right to comfort him, no right to touch him.

Raj is also staring at Naina, noticing the differences that have occurred since the last time he had seen her. Her hair is longer, and her exhaustion is apparent. There is also the difference which he can't ignore, but wishes he could… the ring on her finger. But there are so many familiar things about her too, the way that she has braided her hair for this mission, so similar to how it had been at KMA. They way she sits cross legged comfortably on the floor. The way she is clenching her hands in nervousness.

Finally Naina reaches for the bag again, searching through it until she pulls out a bottle of water and a container of food.

"These are for you, Sir." She tells him, "We thought that you'd need them."

Raj takes them gratefully, it has been hours since he last ate, and it seems like an age since he last had a proper meal. He offers both of them to her first, but Naina shakes her head. "I'm not hungry."

As he eats he waits for her to say something, to give some explanation for what is going on, but Naina stays silent, watching him eat while trying to pretend that she isn't. He can feel her eyes on him as he bends over the container, lifting the food to his mouth.

When the food is finished he pushes both the container and bottle aside, and stretches his legs out in front of him, just to the side of her. Naina is still as beautiful as she has ever been, the only difference is that now she is even more out of his reach.

"Naina," he starts, and her head jerks up as if in his surprise at him speaking, "Why did you do this?"

Naina looks at him as if the question is stupid and she has no idea why he is asking it. "You were going to be killed, Sir. We couldn't let that happen."

"But at the risk of your own lives, your careers, your reputations? Do you know what's going to happen to all of you now?"

Naina shakes her head. "Nothing is going to happen to Yudi and Aalekh. Both of them have good alibis for where they were at the time of the ambush. I'm the only one that we couldn't find an excuse for."

"Why, Naina?" Raj asks, frustrated. "What was the need for you to get yourself into this mess?" He folds his legs so he is sitting cross legged again and leans forward, regarding her intensely. "Why did you need to ruin your life this way? I told you what the plan was, you would've been successful. If you hadn't done this, then you could've proven Navin innocent in a matter of weeks!" then a thought strikes him, it couldn't be… "Unless you didn't manage to get the box… Did something go wrong?"

Naina looks up, anger burning in her eyes. "You think that I came to get you because of that damn box? Is proving Navin bhaiyya innocent the only important thing in this world? You were going to be killed, damn it! I couldn't let that happen!"

Raj can see the anger clearly written on her face and knows he's made a mistake, "Naina, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that…"

Suddenly Naina's face falls, and all of the anger drains out of her. "Why not, Sir?" she asks him. "You're right, the only times I've ever done anything for you was when it was for my own benefit." She wishes that they weren't crammed into the back of a damn truck so that she could at least go somewhere where she wouldn't have to face him.

Raj's expression softens, he can tell that she's hurt by what he said. "Naina… Do you realise what you've sacrificed to do this? Your family… your friends… your… Do you realise that until we're successful in our mission you're going to be thought of as a traitor?"

"Why, Sir?" she asks him in return, tears shining in her eyes, "Did you hesitate in helping me because of any of these reasons? Did you worry about being called a traitor?"

"But that was different… that was…" He can't finish the sentence, because it's far too late for any confessions now. "I had good reason not to care." He finishes lamely.

"So why can't I also have a good reason not to care?" Naina asks him, "Why is it that I should be concerned when you weren't?"

"My case was different, Naina." He tells her, "I… had nothing left to lose."

He can't tell her that he had done it because he loved her, because by that stage that was as much of a reason as wanting to prove Navin innocent. He would have done anything for her, even if it cost him his life. Raj had made her a promise that he would prove her brother innocent, no matter what happened. He would've done anything for the sake of her love, without expecting anything in return. But her reasons… her reasons can't be the same as that.

"Did you ever think," she whispers sadly, "That I had nothing left to lose either? That if you died…" she can't finish the sentence, not even wanting to think about it.

Raj wants to take her in his arms. He wants to confess how he feels for her and kiss her long and hard. He wants to tell Naina that her rescuing him has restored his faith and made him whole again. But he can't. Many things stop him, and the most obvious is the ring on her finger.

"And Huda?" he asks her quietly. "What about him?"

Naina stares at him. The emptiness of the truck fills up with the silence between them.

"Huda?" she asks.

"Yes, I heard that you got engaged. Congratulations by the way, I'm sorry that I missed it." He knows that he's sounding childish now, but he can't help it. He had hoped… He had hoped that after she accomplished her mission she would come to him, that she would love him the way that he loved her.

Naina's face hardens, concealing whatever emotions she is feeling.

"Huda will understand." She tells him.

Raj isn't so sure.

/

"There's this letter for you, Huda." Yudi says, handing over the envelope. "Uh, guys, why don't we leave him alone for awhile so he can read it."

Taking the hint, Ali and Pooja follow Yudi out of the room.

Huda can clearly recognise the handwriting on the front of the envelope, the letter is from Naina. Impatiently he tears the envelope and opens up the letter, sitting down on the couch to read it.

_Huda,_

_I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now. When I asked you to trust me and said I had some things to do, then this can't have been how you imagined it would turn out. It isn't how I thought it would turn out either. My mission should have lasted a couple of months at the most. I would've proven my brother's innocence, punished the people responsible and won Rajveer Sir his freedom. I had thought that I could get all of this accomplished by the time I needed to join my duty. My engagement to you was real, and I honestly thought that we would be getting married soon. But then things went wrong…_

_When I found out that Captain Rajveer was being transferred to Jammu, I realised that I would have to change the plan. Once he reached Jammu, it would've been only a matter of days before they executed him. So his rescue became my first priority. If this letter reaches you then hopefully it means we've been successful and that he's now free. _

_I'm sorry, Huda, but now it might be months before I can come back. Things have become more complicated now. I don't know if you're willing to wait for me that long, if you're not then I'll understand. Even if you do wish to wait, it would probably be best for you to pretend you've forgotten me so that your career isn't compromised._

_All I can say is that I'm sorry, I didn't think it would end up like this. I hope I'll be able to see you soon so that I can explain everything fully._

_Naina_

_P.S. Please destroy this letter after reading it, it shouldn't fall into the wrong hands._

Huda stares at the letter in his hands, and then reluctantly begins to rip it up. Everything has changed now. Naina has said that it might be months before she comes back, if she manages to come back at all. It is only a matter of time before she will be declared a traitor, Huda realises that he will have to tell his parents the truth he has been concealing from them. That the girl they thought of as their future daughter in law has vanished, and is on the run from the authorities. Reluctantly he throws the pieces of the letter onto the fire.

Aalekh had once asked Huda what he would be willing to do for Naina, now Aalekh will be returning soon, and Huda still doesn't know the answer. As much as he tries not to think about it, ever since Yudi has told the story of the rescue, certain thoughts keep returning to his head.

Naina had put herself at enormous risk to rescue Captain Rajveer, she could have easily been killed. And now, she is going to be declared a traitor. Huda knows how deeply that must effect Naina, and how much it will hurt her family. But what is her real reason for doing all this, is it simply gratitude towards her former mentor or…. He doesn't want to complete that thought.

Because if Naina loves Captain Rajveer then why had she gotten engaged to Huda? She had said that the engagement had been real, and that she still planned to marry him.

Aalekh had asked Huda whether he loved Naina enough to give her up. Huda still doesn't have an answer. Could it be that despite loving Captain Rajveer, Naina has decided to give him up? But that is ridiculous, there is no reason for her to do so.

Huda leaves the room to find his friends. He has to tell Ali that he will be leaving, it is time that he tells his parents the truth.

/

The silence between Naina and Raj stretches on. It has been an hour since they last spoke and Naina is leaning against the wall of the truck with her eyes half closed, exhausted and about to fall asleep.

Raj knows that he behaved badly earlier, but his worry for her had turned into anger. He never wanted her to get this deeply involved, to put her life on the line for him. He also has to admit, part of the anger stemmed from her decision to get engaged. It makes no sense to him that she would do that and yet then be willing to sacrifice everything in order to rescue him. He is sure that she doesn't love Huda, but then why…

Raj realises that he has to make up for how he spoke to Naina earlier, he should have at least been more grateful that she'd managed to save his life.

"Naina?" he says her name softly, not wanting to wake her in case she is sleeping.

She opens her eyes slowly, it seems as if she really had been dozing off.

"Naina, I'm sorry for how I spoke to you earlier." He tells her sincerely, "There are no words to thank you for what you've done for me. The risk that you put yourself in, the sacrifice that you've made… "

"Forget it, Sir." She replies, "You would've done the same for me." Naina looks at him directly then, her eyes piercing through the darkness of the truck.

He feels uncomfortable, it seems almost as if she can read his thoughts and feelings. Raj changes the topic quickly. "Truthfully I'm proud of you, Naina. That rescue was amazing, very well planned and executed. How did you do it?"

Their earlier quarrel forgotten, Naina's eyes light up as she describes how the rescue was planned and executed, from her meeting with Aalekh in Ajmer, to gaining access to the right equipment, planning the place of the ambush and calling Yudi for help.

Raj is left speechless when she finishes, not able to believe what they'd accomplished in the space of a week. "Naina, that is truly amazing."

"Of course, Sir." She tells him smiling, "After all, who was my strategy and communications teacher?"

He laughs, the first time he's truly laughed in months, and they grin at each other from across the small space. For a moment it seems exactly like old times, before she had known he killed Navin, before any of this had happened.

But they can't afford to lose their focus by getting caught up in old memories, and Raj knows that well.

"So what's next?" he asks, surprised by how comfortable he is for somebody else to be planning their strategy.

"We're heading to Banares." Naina tells him. "We need to hide out for awhile until everything dies down. This driver will drop us part of the way, and then we'll take different transport form there on, so that he doesn't know where we end up."

"Who knows where we'll be?"

"Only Aalekh, he will never reveal it to anyone. We'll stay there for at least a month until it's safe for us to leave."

He nods, it's a good idea. The people after them probably won't expect them to hide in plain sight.

"There's just one thing, Sir. For the next month we shouldn't be seen together or meet each other. They'll be expecting us to be together, not on our own. You'll be staying at an ashram there, pretending to be a devotee. I'll be in another ashram, posing as a widow sent there by her family-in-law. Even if we see each other on the street by accident, we shouldn't let anybody know that we recognise each other."

Raj wishes it didn't have to be this way, but he realises that the plan is intelligent. If the authorities are looking for a man and a woman together, then they can escape attention more easily by staying apart.

"So then what?"

"I'll contact you when it's time to go or if we need to meet. Until then we'll both play our roles."

Raj sighs, "Then I guess I'd better start practicing some religious songs."

Unable to help herself, Naina smiles. "Be brave, Sir. It's only for a month or so."

"Alright, Naina." He replies. "I trust you."

He can't guess how much those words mean to her.

/

After they have climbed down from the first truck, Raj and Naina change their clothes, putting on their new disguises. When Naina emerges from the trees, Raj is shocked by her appearance. Dressed in a simple white sari, with her hair tied back in a plait, she looks exactly like a young widow. She clutches a bundle of cloth in her hands, which presumably contains all of her worldly belongings. Raj has also changed his clothes in order to look more like a devotee coming to Banares. Tying a bandana over his hair, he manages to hide his scar.

"Alright, Sir." Naina tells him, "For the next month we're strangers. Remember that I'll contact you when we need to leave."

Impulsively he reaches out and hugs her for a short moment. He has been aching to touch her since he saw her again for the first time in the van, and the brief contact restores his hope that things will work out.

"Be careful, Naina." He tells her, letting go of her reluctantly.

"You too, Sir. But remember, if one of us is caught then the other shouldn't reveal themselves. No matter what happens, the other one should escape and continue the mission."

Raj just hopes that such a situation wouldn't arrive.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

One month later and he has yet to hear from Naina.

Raj had been accepted to the ashram easily, there had been no questions of who he was or why he had arrived. He supposes they received so many devotees that one more wouldn't inspire any curiosity. From there he had settled into the daily routine; it was difficult at first, every day was marked by the fear that they would be caught and a certain amount of boredom. However, part of a soldier's job is to wait, and Raj forces himself to do so. He has seen Naina twice in that month, once when he passed her on the street and once when by coincidence they happened to be in the same temple for prayers. He is relieved that she looks fine, but avoided making any type of sign or eye contact to her, knowing what the risks were.

Raj waits. The month has finished and he knows that any day now, they will be moving on. The only contact that he has received from Naina so far has been a note passed on by a street urchin in the first week, which had simply told him to avoid cutting his hair or shaving his beard. It is difficult for him not to be the one planning the strategy but he trusts Naina, he knows that she has a plan. And so he waits.

/

Ali and Pooja's stays with each other's families have gone well, so well in fact that the two families have agreed to meet with each other properly to discuss the relationship. Ali and Pooja sit quietly as their families talk, until Ali's father finally suggests that they get them engaged before they both join their new duties. It is then that Ali interrupts.

"I'm sorry Abu, but Pooja and I have made a decision that we would prefer to wait to get engaged."

The two sets of parents are shocked, they had thought that their children were desperate to get engaged, and suddenly they are refusing to.

"But why, Ali? Why not get engaged now?"

Pooja is the one that answers the question, "We do want to get engaged, but the circumstances right now aren't right. One of our friends is missing, and we would prefer to wait until she comes back."

"And if she doesn't come back?" Pooja's mother asks, "Will you never get engaged?"

"Can we wait for a year?" Ali asks them, "After that if Naina hasn't returned, then we'll do exactly as you ask."

Their parents are disappointed, but give in to their children's wishes. Ali's Ammi prayed that their friend Naina would return sooner than that.

/

Finally the holidays are over and it is time for all of them to join their duties. Before doing so, they meet one final time at Yudi's house, not knowing when they might be together again. Everybody feels Naina's absence but nobody wants to mention it.

It has been over a month since Captain Rajveer's rescue, and nobody has heard from her since then. Huda had initially been angry at Aalekh for leaving him in Delhi without any warning, but he eventually gives in when Aalekh tells him the reasons. Nobody had wanted to tell Huda anything because they knew he was the one that was most likely to be watched. Huda has to admit that it was probably a good thing he hadn't known what the plan was.

Aalekh hasn't asked Huda for his answer to those questions yet, and Huda is relieved. He still isn't ready to give one, and Aalekh probably realises that.

Pooja will be going on for further study in Delhi, as she is training to be a communications officer. She knows that as a woman she might never be sent to the frontlines, and with all her experience with mobiles she has decided that communications will probably suit her.

Ali, Aalekh and Yudi have all been assigned to duty in Ladakh. Yudi complains about how cold it will be, but all of them are proud to be trusted with such an important duty. They are also happy that at least they will be together for the next year or so. Huda is confused about his posting, the only thing he has been told is to report to headquarters in Delhi.

"At least you'll know somebody in Delhi," Ali tells Pooja, relieved that she won't be alone there.

"Yes, but our Jat will probably be so busy charming Delhi girls that…" Pooja stops mid sentence, suddenly realising what she is saying. Officially, Huda's engagement to Naina has been called off. Naina is right, it is the most sensible thing to do until she manages to prove herself innocent. But everybody has noticed that Huda hasn't removed his ring yet.

"Don't worry, Ali." Huda tells her, trying to make the situation less awkward. "I'll protect our Punjaben as if she was my little sister. No Delhi boys will get anywhere near her."

They all laugh at this, imagining their Jat friend scaring off any potential admirers of Pooja.

Neelu comes down and sits with them then, she is going to miss her brother and his friends, especially Aalekh. She is waiting for the day that they will get married but Aalekh wants to prove himself first, he is waiting until he manages to make a name for himself in the army. Until then they will just have to keep calling each other and writing letters, in hindi of course.

"Well guys," Neelu says, "Since this is the last night we'll be together for a long time, why don't we have a toast?"

"Great idea, Sis!" Yudi replies, "I'll go and open some wine."

Aalekh makes a face at the mention of wine as if he would prefer something stronger, but Neelu shoots him a warning glance as if to say 'don't you dare'.

Yudi soon comes back with the wine and some glasses and pours everybody one. "Well guys, shall we all make a toast?"

"To KMA," is Huda's toast.

"To our friendship, may our connection with each other never be lost." Pooja says.

"To India!" Ali toasts.

"To victory!" Yudi exclaims.

"To Captain Rajveer." Aalekh finally says, and a silence falls over them. Then Pooja raises her glass and the rest follow.

The next morning everybody leaves early for their various destinations. Yudi, Ali and Aalekh have decided to drive to Ladakh together, while Pooja and Huda will be taking a bus to Delhi. Huda had wanted to take his motorcycle but had realised that then it would be impossible to bring any luggage, so one of his cousins will be bringing it to Delhi in the next week.

Pooja and Ali say goodbye privately, as do Aalekh and Neelu and then all of the friends said farewell one last time, hugging each other. Nobody knows what will happen in the future, anything is possible, especially with three of them posted to an area near the border.

"Guys, we should make a vow right now." Yudi says, always the most dramatic of all of them.

"Arre, Nautanki. Bole to, what type of vow?"

"That we'll always stay friends and always support each other, no matter what happens."

All of them agree that this is a good vow to make.

Then Yudi adds the next part, "That we'll always fight for the truth, no matter what the cost to ourselves is. Just like Naina and Captain Rajveer are doing right now."

This is a more serious vow, and all of them consider it carefully before they say yes. They all know exactly how dangerous the path of truth can be.

Finally it is time to go, they all climb into Yudi's car, waving goodbye to Neelu as they leave. Then it is time to bid goodbye to Huda and Pooja when they drop them to the bus station just in time for the bus. Pooja hugs Ali one last time and kisses him on the cheek, leaving him blushing, then Pooja and Huda climb out, waving until their friends have driven out of sight.

Once they reach Delhi, Huda makes sure to drop Pooja to the female officer's quarters, before he leaves for his own. The two buildings are only a couple of blocks away from each other so it will be easy to meet up, and they agree that they will get dinner together the next night so they can chat about their new duties.

The next day dawns and Huda makes his way to headquarters, arriving a few minutes before 9am and taking the elevator up to the floor he has been told to report to. Giving his name to the person at the reception desk he sits down to wait, observing his surroundings. At five past nine his name is finally called, and he enters the office of Colonel Bakshi.

Colonel Bakshi is an older man of about fifty with greying hair and an impressive moustache. "Well, Lieutenant Amardeep Huda, welcome to Delhi." He told Huda.

"Thank you, Sir." Huda replies, saluting him.

"At ease, take a seat." The Colonel directs him, and Huda sits down in front of the desk. "You must be wondering why you've been assigned to Delhi so early in your career rather than out in the field."

"Well yes Sir, it had crossed my mind."

"Well you've come to us highly recommended, Lieutenant Huda. Your teachers at KMA have very high opinions of you."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Therefore you've been assigned to a special duty here in Delhi, I would like to introduce you to your immediate superior officer," there is a knock at the door and Colonel Bakshi smiles, "That must him now. Come in!"

Huda turns around to see who it is and can't quite believe his eyes. There in front of him stands Captain Abhimanyu Rai Chauhan.

"I believe you already know each other from KMA, so no introductions are needed." Colonel Bakshi continues. "Lieutenant Huda, you're being assigned to the search for Captain Rajveer Singh Shekawat and Naina Singh Ahluwalia. I hope that you will be able to carry out your duty impartially."

Huda is shocked, he had never expected this to happen. "But Sir, don't you think that…"

"Lieutenant Huda, I realise that you were engaged to Miss Ahluwalia, but now that the engagement has been called off, I don't think you should have any problem joining in the search. In fact you should be very useful as you know both of the fugitives quite well."

Huda feels his world falling down around him. This is the worst possible first duty that he could ever have. He remembers his vow the day before that he would fight for the truth. If Naina and Captain Rajveer are fighting for the truth, then that means he should support them, he should make sure that they aren't caught. But can he sabotage the first mission he has ever been assigned to?

"Yes, Sir." Huda reassures Colonel Bakshi, "I will carry out my duty honestly." But even as he says it, he has no idea whether he will really be able to or not. Can he really betray Naina? Can he really try to find the two of them when the outcome of that could be a death sentence?

"Captain Abhimanyu, why don't you show Lieutenant Huda to his desk and introduce him to his new partner?"

Huda leaves the room with Abhimanyu, still considering what he can do to get himself out of this mess. Abhimanyu leads him to an empty desk which is obviously intended for Huda, then calls out to the girl sitting at the desk opposite.

"Lieutenant Kapoor, would you come here please?"

She walks over, saluting Captain Abhimanyu.

"Lieutenant Amardeep Huda, this is your new partner, Lieutenant Priya Kapoor. I hope that you two will work well together. Now I'll leave you two to get acquainted."

Priya holds out her hand, and Huda shakes it. She is pretty, and she seems to be the same age as Huda or younger.

"Sorry for asking this," Huda starts apologetically, "But shouldn't they have partnered me with somebody more senior?"

"It's no problem," Priya replies, "Actually I'm also surprised that they decided to assign you as my partner. I passed out a year ago as the best cadet in my batch and have been working at headquarters on this task force since then."

"This task force?" Huda says, confused. "But Nai… Miss Ahluwalia and Captain Rajveer have only been missing for a bit more than a month now."

"Well the task force only started looking for them recently," Priya tells him, "Before that, our job was to find the red box. I believe that you're already familiar with that case."

The red box… All of a sudden everything made sense, Naina's anger at Abhimanyu… Her accusations about his intentions…

"Then Abhimanyu Sir…" he leaves the sentence as a question.

"He was assigned to KMA to try to get the box back for us. He was successful, but nobody had predicted that Captain Rajveer would steal it before it could be transferred here, and then hide it somewhere."

Huda's head begins to spin… everything has been a set up. Abhimanyu had won Naina's trust only to exploit it in order to complete his mission, pretending that he wanted to prove his friend's innocence. Huda wonders whether Abhimanyu was the one Captain Rajveer had been talking about the night that he came to see Naina at KMA. It is such a huge betrayal of trust, no wonder Naina hadn't wanted to tell anybody what her plan was.

"Well for today you can settle in," Priya tells him, "Tomorrow we'll have a meeting to bring you up to speed on the case's progress."

/

That night as promised, Huda meets Pooja for dinner, taking her to a kebab restaurant in old Delhi. He lets Pooja tell him about her training first, knowing that it will take a long time to fill her in on everything he has found out that day. Pooja had enjoyed herself and thought the training was going to be easy, then finally she says something that gets Huda's attention.

"I've got a great room mate too, you might meet her soon because she also works at headquarters. Her name is Priya Kapoor."

Suddenly it all begins to make sense to Huda, this is too big of a coincidence to be anything other than a set up. He has been assigned a young, beautiful woman as his partner. Abhimanyu knows about his weakness for girls. Huda has no other option than to believe that his new partner has a mission of her own that she hasn't informed him about.

She has obviously been assigned to spy on him and Pooja.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Finally one and a half months since they had arrived in Banares, the day that Raj has been waiting for comes. While he sits by the river in the evening a young beggar boy comes up and gives him a note, Raj gives him a coin in return.

The note is written in code, but Raj understands perfectly. Naina wants him to meet her to the west of the city tonight at sunset. He collects his things from the ashram, telling them that he is moving on to yet another pilgrimage town.

Raj arrives five minutes before sunset at the rendezvous point to find Naina already there. The setting sun glints off her white sari, giving her face and hair a tinted red colour. She is still the most beautiful sight he has ever seen.

Naina looks relieved when she spots him, and he hurries to meet her.

"We have to leave here quickly," she announces, "I was recognised by somebody."

"How did you find out?" Raj asks, it's lucky that she did or they would've been caught before they had even managed to achieve anything.

"Chaubey," she tells him, "He informed Aalekh who passed the message on to me here. Now let's go before it's too late."

She walks off the roadside so that she is sheltered from view and turns her back to Raj. There in the light of the setting sun she unwraps her white sari, standing there in only the blouse and skirt. Quickly Naina bends down to take a blue sari out of her bag instead, and straightening up with the material in her hands she briefly catches the look on Raj's face.

Ashamed at his own thoughts, and at Naina catching him staring at her, he quickly turns away, but the image is already burned into his mind.

Finally she taps him on the arm and he turns to face her, not able to meet her eyes. Naina simply passes him a change of clothes, a simple pair of pants and button up shirt, and then turns her back so he can change, which Raj does quickly. He unties the bandana from his head, knowing that his hair is now long enough to hide the scar above his eyebrow.

Raj turns back around to find that Naina has adorned her forehead with a bindi and has already marked a sindoor in her hair. She is struggling to do up the mangalsutra, her fingers not able to do up the clasp at the back.

"I'll help you," Raj tells her quietly, but stops at the shocked look in her eyes.

"I'll do it myself." She tells him and finally manages to close the clasp. It is only then that Raj realises exactly what he had offered to do. He can't believe that he had said it so unthinkingly. Even if she hadn't been engaged…

Stepping up to the road again, they hire an autorickshaw to take them to the next town. From there they take a bus to yet another town and by then it is night.

"We need to hurry if we're going to catch the train." Naina tells him, "We have to change our disguises again." In a back alley they once again change, this time Raj turns away from Naina quickly. When Naina is done she is already wearing a modest salwar kameez and holding a burqa in her hands, preparing to wear it. Raj is now dressed in a man's kurta pajama, with a tight prayer cap on his skull. Naina hands him his new ID.

"Your name is Rehan Ali Khan and mine is Fatima Khan," she informs him. "We're on our way back to Lucknow to visit my sick mother." Then she pulls the burqa on, struggling with it slightly as she tries to figure out how to wear it. Raj helps her, adjusting it where it has become caught.

"Let's go," he tells her, "I'll buy the tickets, you wait in the ladies room at the station for me."

Buying the tickets is a relatively easy process, Raj is glad that nobody asks any questions or seems to look at him suspiciously. They have managed to get seats with difficulty, all of the sleeping berths full. The tickets in his hand, Raj stands outside the ladies room and makes a sign to Naina, who quickly gets up to join him. They board the train with only ten minutes to spare, and soon find their seats, Raj can barely make out the shape of Naina's face below her burqa. He settles her near the window before sitting down next to her, another older man sitting on his other side. Across from them there is a young family consisting of a mother, father and two children.

Raj leans his head back against the wall, he is exhausted and knows that they won't be arriving in Lucknow until the next day but he doesn't want to fall asleep in case they need to escape.

Naina is obviously thinking exactly the same thing, as she is sitting up straight in the seat despite the fact that her body is radiating tiredness.

"You go to sleep, jaan." Raj whispers, conscious of the other people watching them, He takes her right hand in his and holds it comfortingly. Raj can feel Naina relax and half an hour later she is asleep, her head resting on his shoulder. He doesn't let go of her hand, knowing that this might be the only opportunity for a long time to come. Raj stays awake, he watches for danger.

He will protect her from harm. No matter what.

/

_Earlier the same day…_

"Huda let's go, there's a meeting." Priya announces to him, "There's been a sighting."

Huda's heart leaps out of his chest and straight into his throat where it stays stuck. He has been at headquarters for over a week now, and he has been dreading this moment.

"I'll be right there." He tells Priya, and pretends that he needs to close down some files on his computer first. He doesn't trust his partner, and the relationship between them has been frosty ever since the first day. Huda has warned Pooja that Priya might have been assigned to spy on them, and Pooja has promised to be careful about what she says.

The only person other than Abhimanyu that Huda knows at headquarters is Chaubey, which had puzzled him at first considering that the man used to be a cook at KMA. That was until Chaubey had explained to him that he had really been Captain Rajveer's assistant in his mission to catch the spy. However Bunty Chaubey is not on the task force, instead he is working for another division so Huda only sees him when they walk past each other in the halls.

Managing to calm himself down, Huda enters the briefing room, finding to his dismay that the only seat empty is one between Priya and Abhimanyu, exactly where he doesn't want to be sitting. Colonel Bakshi enters the room and wastes no time in beginning the briefing.

"There's been a sighting of Naina Singh Ahluwalia in Banares." He informs them, "A local sepoy spotted her, he said that her face seemed familiar but he only realised who she was once he arrived back in headquarters and saw the poster with her face on the wall."

"So there was no spotting of Captain Rajveer, Sir?" Priya asks.

"No there was not, so we don't know whether they're together or if they've split up. Until now we were assuming that they are together. Now we will make no such assumptions."

"So what now, Sir?" Abhimanyu asks Colonel Bakshi.

"Now we send an investigation team to find out whether the sighting is genuine or not. Lieutenant Huda and Lieutenant Kapoor will travel to Banares to see if they can find Ms Ahluwalia. The information we received from the sepoy is that she was dressed as a widow, so we can guess from that information that she may be staying in an ashram there. You will ask around and try to find out where she is."

Priya nods sharply, Huda hesitantly.

"Well if everything is understood then you should both leave immediately," Colonel Bakshi announces. The room clears out as everybody leaves except Priya and Huda.

"I've been on this type of investigation before," she informs him. "We'll take a car and drive there as there's no flight until tomorrow anyway. It would be good if we both went back to our accommodation and packed some clothes, we might not be coming back for a few days. I'll meet you in front of my quarters in half an hour."

Huda takes his time to leave and is making his way to the exit when he bumps into Bunty Chaubey.

"Lieutenant Amardeep Huda," Chaubey addresses him smilingly, "Where are you wandering to looking so lost?"

"There's a problem Chaubey," Huda tells him, happy that at least he can open his heart to somebody, "There's been a sighting of Naina in Benares, now I've got to go and investigate."

A strange look passes over Chaubey's face before he replies, patting Huda reassuringly on the shoulder, "Don't worry, everything will work out fine."

Getting the keys to the car they have been given, Huda drives it to his quarters and packs a bag of clothes and essentials before driving to the ladies quarters where Priya is already waiting.

"I left a note for Pooja," Priya tells him, throwing her bag onto the back seat as she climbs into the car to sit beside him. "So that she knows where we've both gone." Huda just nods, too tense to speak.

It takes them the better part of the day to drive to Varanasi, for the most part in silence. Priya has learnt by now that any attempt she makes to start up a conversation is sure to be rebuffed by Huda. She has had enough when they stop for lunch and Huda simply grunts in answer to her comments about the food.

"Lieutenant Huda," she addresses him sternly, "What is your problem that you can't even speak one word to me properly?"

Huda is surprised, he hadn't expected her to confront him over it, but he is sick of playing this game too.

"Look here, Lieutenant Kapoor," he tells her, "I'm not stupid, I know exactly what is going on here. And I'm not going to become a pawn in somebody's game."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Priya asks, "What have I done to make you think I'm playing some sort of game? All I'm trying to do here is carry out my duty honestly."

"Honestly?" Huda asks, "Is it honest to be spying on your so-called partner? And don't even try denying it. I know exactly what type of game they're playing. They assigned a pretty girl as my partner so I'd be overcome by her charms and not suspect her. But they went too far when they also made you Pooja's room mate." There is a fire in his eyes as he glares at her and she can tell that he is damn angry. "As I said, I'm not stupid. I know very well that you haven't just been assigned to be my partner."

Priya weighs up her options, wishing that it hadn't come to this so soon, then decides that the best policy really is honesty.

"Alright, I admit it. When they assigned me to be your partner and made Pooja my room mate they did tell me to keep an eye on both of you. But I don't see what you're worried about if you've got nothing to hide."

"I don't have anything to hide." Huda tells her, his tone surprised at her admission but still dangerously angry, "But do you really expect me to treat you as my partner when you've been assigned to spy on me?"

"Look Huda, whatever I might have been asked to do, I think of you as my partner." She looks him straight in the eye, wanting him to know how honest she is being with him, "And I believe that you really don't have any idea where Naina Singh Ahluwalia or Captain Shekawat are. Now you can make it hard for us to work together, or we can try to get along and get to know each other."

Huda considers the option she is giving him, it certainly isn't pleasant to be constantly giving his partner the cold shoulder, but he can't betray his friends by helping her to find them. Then again, by becoming her friend perhaps he can benefit too. Perhaps it will help him to stop Naina and Captain Rajveer from being caught…

"Fine," Huda replies, "You've got a deal. From today I'll consider you to be my partner. We'll try to get along together." He holds out his hand and Priya shakes it.

Huda knows exactly what he is doing. He remembers Captain Rajveer's advice that you should always keep your enemies close; Priya might not be his enemy, but she isn't exactly his friend either. If she is going to be watching him, then he is going to be watching her as well.

He knows how to play this game.

/

By the time they arrive in Benaras, the only thing they have time to do is interview the sepoy about his sighting of Naina.

He is young and clearly new to the job, proud of himself for sighting such a wanted criminal.

"Yes Sir, Ma'am," he tells them excitedly, "It was definitely her, I can never forget that face. She was much more beautiful than most of the widows who come here."

"Sepoy," Huda asks him angrily, "Is your job to watch young widows?"

The sepoy at least has the good grace to look embarrassed, "No Sir, I mean, that wasn't what I was doing, Sir. I thought I recognised her, and then when I went back to the station I saw the poster on the wall and realised who she was. By the time we arrived back to where she had been, the girl was already gone."

Huda shows him the photo of Naina they have brought with them, which is much clearer than the poster on the wall. "Are you sure that it was this girl?"

"Yes, Sir, absolutely sure." The sepoy replies.

"And there was no man with her?" Priya asks, looking for information about Captain Rajveer.

"No ma'am, generally none of the widows here would have men with them unless they're involved in that sort of business."

Priya chooses not to ask him which sort of business he means. The sepoy shuts up anyway when he sees the look in Huda's eyes.

"So you don't know which ashram she is staying in?" Priya asks, hoping he will be able to tell them a bit more.

"No, ma'am. I can tell you the area of the city I spotted her in, but she could have been from anywhere."

"Then tomorrow we begin our search in earnest," Priya sighs, "It's too late for today, let's head back to our hotel for now. Sepoy, I expect there to be a list ready for us tomorrow of all widows' ashrams within the city, no matter how late you have to stay up making it."

The sepoy salutes them, and Huda and Priya leave. Huda is glad they haven't been able to make much progress today, hopefully Naina will have found out they are in the city and left already.

The next day they check every widows ashram in the city, and against his will, Huda finds himself becoming impressed by his partner. Priya is both professional and meticulous in her work, ensuring that every potential witness is questioned properly.

He realises she had been telling the truth, she does complete her work honestly. The only difference that lies between them is that she considers Captain Rajveer and Naina to be traitors and he doesn't. Huda couldn't blame her for that, like any good officer she believes what she has been told by her superiors.

Finally at 3pm Naina's photo is recognised. It is a larger, quite run down ashram and the woman in charge recognises the photo as soon as it is shown to her.

"Yes, she arrived about a month and a half ago, but she's gone now." The woman informs them.

"Gone?" Huda asks, trying not to sound happy at this information.

"Yes, she left yesterday. She told us she had received a call from her family-in-law and they had changed their minds and wanted her back."

"What else can you tell us about her? Was she friendly with anyone in particular? Did you ever see her with this man?" Priya shows the woman a photo of Captain Rajveer.

"She kept to herself, never made friends with any of the other girls. We always assumed that she was still struggling to get over her grief. I've never seen the man in that photo, and I never saw her with any other men either." The woman informs them.

"Then can we see her old room?" Priya asks and the woman leads them there.

As they climb up the rickety stairs, Priya speaks to him in a low voice. "She received a call, that means that somebody warned her we were coming."

"Well don't look at me," Huda says defensively, "It wasn't me who called her. I didn't even know she was in Benaras until today."

"Calm down," Priya tells him. "I'm not accusing you of anything, I'm just pointing out that there's somebody on the inside helping them."

Suddenly they stand in the bare room which is shared by five other women, all of whom look at them curiously when they enter. Huda and Priya question them but everybody says the same thing. Naina had been quiet, she hadn't made friends with anybody, she hadn't told anyone anything about herself. It is exactly as Huda had expected.

When they exit the ashram Priya notices that Huda looks troubled. "What's the matter?" she asks him.

"I can't believe that she stayed in a place like this for a month and a half," he replies without thinking, "Did you see what that room was like?"

Priya shakes her head in disbelief. "Amazing, you still love her don't you? After everything she's done to you?"

Huda begins to feel angry at that comment, "And what is it that you think she's done to me? What do you think you know about either Naina or this situation?"

Priya raises her hands defensively, "Hey, calm down. All I'm saying is, this girl vanished one day after your engagement, never bothering to tell you what she was doing or where she was going. She then goes and rescues a convicted traitor without caring about her own reputation or yours. And you're still defending her?"

Huda sighs, and all of the fight melts out of his body. "Look Priya, you don't know either Naina or Captain Rajveer, if you did, then you would understand how and why it all happened. Naina hasn't betrayed me, she's just doing her duty."

"Well then, Huda, why don't you make me understand. Explain to me how it is that you're still supporting her when she's used you like this, abandoned you like this? Face it Huda, she's lied to you. She never really loved you, if she did then she couldn't have done this to you."

"No," Huda replies sadly, "She never lied about loving me." Because not once had she said the words, not when she accepted his proposal, not when they got engaged, not in her last letter to him. She has never pretended to love him and he has only ever pretended that he believed she did.

He's not angry at Priya anymore, he knows that in some strange way she's angry at Naina for his sake. He can't expect her to understand something as complicated as this. Naina has never loved him, and he… he's been lying to himself for a very long time that she ever would. But even now, Huda feels no anger towards Naina. He knows that even now alone with Rajveer, she wouldn't consider breaking the promise she made to him, because that's the type of girl she is.

"Come on," he tells Priya, "Now that we know she's not here anymore, we'd better go and try to find out where she's gone."

Priya stares at his retreating form for a moment, confused by his behaviour before she gives up trying to understand and hurries to catch up with him.

/

Raj and Naina step off the train in Lucknow and are immediately swept up in the hustle and bustle of the busy station. Raj steers them towards the outside, a protective hand on Naina's back. He whispers in her ear as they go. "What next?"

"Now we find some accommodation for the night." She tells him, "I'll tell you the rest of the plan once we're there."

Raj nods and finds them a rickshaw, instructing the driver to find them some inexpensive, decent accommodation.

He drives them to a small hotel which lies quite close to the train station. It seems decent enough from the outside as if it is a family hotel and they head inside with their meagre belongings.

"My begum and I are seeking a place to stay for the night," Raj tells the man at the front desk, "Could I please inspect one of your rooms?"

He signals for Naina to stay in the reception area and she sits in one of the chairs, waiting for him to come back.

"We'll take it," Raj informs the man after a brief inspection, then hands over the deposit and receives the key in return. "Let's go, Begum Jan" he says to Naina formally, unable to know that she is smiling at his behaviour underneath her burqa.

As soon as they are inside the room Raj locks and bolts the door. Lifting the burqa's veil from her face, Naina inspects the room. It is plain but clean, and obviously well looked after. There is a small television set, a table and one chair and one double bed.

Raj is eyeing the bed doubtfully. "I'll sleep on the floor." He informs her.

"Look Sir," Naina replies, "I think that you should take the bed, after all, you're probably still not recovered properly from your time in prison."

Raj sighs, this is the last conversation he wants to be having with her.

"Why don't we order some food first," he tells her, "And then we can make a decision about who gets the bed. Pick out some items from the room service menu."

Naina nods, she is starving as they hadn't had a chance to eat properly on the train. She tells Raj what she would like to eat and he picks up the phone to order. Naina makes sure that she doesn't remove her burqa until the food has arrived and the boy has left. Only then does she pull it off, sighing in relief.

They discuss the current plan as they eat, Raj is to introduce himself to a man named Anwar, claiming to be a friend of Aalekh's who has recently been released from jail. He will then get a job in the man's mechanic shop. This will give them an excuse for staying in Lucknow and provide a good cover while they figure out their next plan for the success of the mission. It is then that Raj finally asks Naina what he has been thinking about for the last month, where the contents of the red box are.

"It was exactly where you had told me it would be, Sir." She informs him. "I made multiple copies of all of the documents and have left them in safe locations throughout India. That way if something happens to us, at least there's a chance that one of our friends will be able to continue the mission."

"Excellent strategy, Naina. I can see that you must have always paid attention in class." Raj jokes.

"Always, Sir." She replies, not joking this time. "But our strategy and communications classes were never as good after your departure."

He smiles at her fondly and they eat in silence. When the food is finished he places the tray with the dishes outside of the door, not wanting anybody to disturb them later. It's early in the evening but both of them are exhausted, and it's better that they go to sleep now rather than later.

"So, about the bed…" he begins.

"Sir, we're both mature adults," Naina tells him sensibly, "Nothing is going to happen if we share a bed for one night." She sounds a lot more confident than she feels, but to be honest she doesn't want him sleeping on the floor and she's not too keen to do so herself either after more than a month in an uncomfortable widows ashram.

"Well, if you say so." Raj says with only a trace of uncertainty, and they both settle off the bed, Naina curled up facing away from him, and he flat on his back before he turns off the light.

Both of them are asleep within minutes, they're so deeply asleep in fact, that neither of them notices when Naina rolls over so that she's facing towards him, or when Raj turns on his side and throws a protective arm over Naina in his sleep.

The morning will bring new problems. For now they can dream in peace.

/

The next morning Raj wakes early due to habit, the azan can be heard through the thin walls of the hotel, reminding him that they are no longer in Banares. Waking up, he realises that he has thrown an arm over Naina during the night and hastily removes it, getting up and moving towards the bathroom, grabbing a spare set of clothes and a towel on his way. He glances back towards Naina but she is still asleep.

Half an hour later, Raj emerges from the bathroom to find Naina awake and sitting cross legged on the bed. He has trimmed his beard so that it is much tidier, but still rubs his hand across his cheek unhappily.

"I miss not having a beard." He tells her, feeling slightly silly that he is worried about such things under the current circumstances.

"It's not that bad," Naina tells him reassuringly, "Especially now that you've trimmed it." Raj smiles at her, throwing his towel over the back of a chair.

"I'll go and see Anwar this morning," he tells Naina, "We should get out of this hotel and get settled as soon as possible."

Naina nods, and picking up another salwar kameez and a towel heads for the bathroom. Raj checks the bag, there are no more changes of clothes, today they will have to go and do some shopping. He orders some parathas and chai for breakfast just before Naina steps out of the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with a towel.

They both sit cross legged on the bed facing each other with the tray of food between them. Raj informs her that after he has finished eating he will go and see Anwar about the job and to arrange them some accommodation.

"I'll be back before it's time to check out. Make sure you don't open the door to anybody except me."

He leaves soon after and Naina is alone with nothing except her thoughts and the old television for company. She can't believe that it has been less than three months since she had left her house, since all of this had begun. But if she thought about this honestly, then all of this had begun the night that Captain Rajveer had entered the academy secretly to see her, or even before that when he had informed her that he was going after the box…

That day was burned into her memory, Naina doesn't think that she will ever be able to forget it, even if she lives to be a hundred.

It had been three months before they were due to graduate, and even longer than that since the red box had slipped out of Rajveer's hands. Since then Naina had tried to concentrate on her studies, believing that the box was truly out of her reach. She hadn't known that Captain Rajveer had never given up trying to get it back, he had been determined that no matter what, Navin's innocence would be proved.

It had been the middle of monsoon on the day he left, and Naina still remembered the humidity and the smell of rain in the air. Raj had sent her a note through an orderly, calling her to his office. He had been clearly agitated, standing by the window and drumming his fingers on the wall when she had knocked on the door and entered.

"Naina, I'm leaving today." He had told her, "The red box is being moved and I promise that no matter what, I won't let it slip out of my hands again. I will prove your brother innocent, no matter what it might cost."

It was the first time in her life that she had ever felt so afraid, the first time that she had ever felt she might actually lose him.

"Sir…" she had wanted to tell him not to go, wanted to tell him that his life was more important than proving her brother's innocence but he had cut her off before she could speak.

"Don't stop me from doing this, Naina." Raj had told her, dreadfully earnest. "This is my decision, and my promise to keep. I'll only come back if I'm successful."

She had taken a few more steps towards him, wanting to tell him that he had nothing left to prove, that she couldn't bear to lose him too.

"One more thing, Naina." Raj told her, grabbing her shoulders with his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Don't trust Abhimanyu. Chaubey's just been posted to headquarters and he found out that Abhi has been on a taskforce to regain the red box ever since he arrived here." Naina's head reeled and Raj must have seen the anger in her eyes, because he had quickly added "Don't tell him that you know, wait until I've returned before saying anything."

The look in his eyes had burned her as he gazed down at her face. He wasn't just fighting for her brother's innocence, he was fighting for redemption, to prove himself worthy of Navin's friendship, to prove himself worthy of…

Raj must have seen the sudden dawn of understanding in her eyes because he hurriedly let go of her shoulders and turned away.

"I'll come back only when I've been successful, Naina." He promised her, "Once I have the contents of the box I'll take them to Lala Saheb, he'll know what to do with them."

"Rajveer…" It was the only time she had ever called him by his name, but the moment had demanded it.

He had turned around to face her, shocked at hearing his name from her lips. He must have understood the warring emotions on her face, because he had reached out one hand to briefly touch her cheek.

"Don't worry, Naina, we're close to the success of our mission now. I'll be back in no time at all."

And then as if afraid that staying for a moment longer would weaken his resolve, he had left.

Naina had waited, but he hadn't returned. For a month she had hidden the pain inside her, as he was declared a traitor and soldiers were sent to hunt him. Every day that he was on the run she feared for his life, unable to tell anybody why he had actually left. Every day she had to put up with Abhimanyu's fake sympathy while he pretended he was worried about Raj. And in that month she had thrown herself into her training wholeheartedly, trying to distract herself from her worry, trying to distract herself from her long hidden emotions that were now surfacing…

For one month it had continued, until the night he came back….

Suddenly a knock at the door startles Naina out of her memories and she looks out the peep hole to see Raj standing there.

He smiles at her as he walks in, "The trip was successful, Anwar has given me a job and arranged an apartment for us to stay in. It's nothing fancy, but it suits our current situation. Let's check out of here and go settle in. We have to buy some clothes too."

Naina nods silently, still disturbed by her memories of the past. Hurriedly she puts her burqa on, packs her bag, and they leave the hotel.

/

After the ashram, Huda and Priya had shown Naina's photo at all of the places where she could have left Banares: the bus station, the train station and even the airport with no luck. Finally at the main autorickshaw stand in town, they are successful. It is a one in a million chance but they find the man who had picked her up on the road that night.

"Yes, that's definitely her." He tells them, "She and her husband took my auto to the next town."

"Husband?" Priya asks him, "How do you know it was her husband?"

"Well she was obviously married, as she had a mangalsutra and sindoor. And who else could he have been?" Suddenly the rickshaw man claps his hands over his mouth in horror, "Arre bapre, I didn't help her run away from her husband did I?"

"No Sir, not at all." Priya tells the man politely, "If you can tell us where you dropped them then it would be a great help."

He tells them the place and they check out of their hotel quickly to pursue the lead. But from the moment they arrive in the next town, their luck fails them. Not a single person recognises the photos of Naina or Raj at the bus station or the train station and neither do any of the taxi or rickshaw drivers they ask. Finally, they have reached a dead end with their search.

"So what do we do now?" Huda asks Priya, secretly relieved that they haven't managed to find anything further out.

"Well, we've done our best." She informs him, "And I honestly don't see that us staying here any longer is going to be of benefit. We'll hand the case over to the local police and head back to Delhi."

They stay the night in a hotel and then the next day rise early to drive back to Delhi. The trip is uneventful until they reach Lucknow. Huda is tired and they have stopped the car at a busy intersection to wait until the lights change. A Muslim man stands at the side of the road with a woman in a burqa waiting to cross. Huda shouldn't even notice them, but for some reason he does. It takes a few seconds for his brain to recognise the face, but within a moment he is sure beyond doubt that it is Captain Rajveer. He quickly glances across at Priya, but is relieved to see that she is absorbed in reading through the case notes.

Huda looks back at the couple, now completely sure that the man is Captain Rajveer. He prays for the woman to lift the veil of her burqa, just once, so that he can know that he is right. The moment comes when it is time for them to cross the road and the woman's steps falter. With one movement of her hand, she sweeps the veil up and Huda sees the face he has been yearning to see for months. There she is, less than five steps away from the car. From this short distance he can even make out his ring, still on her finger. Huda watches as Captain Rajveer says something to her and Naina smiles up at him, her whole face beaming. Then the Captain offers her his hand and she takes it, lowering her veil again. Hand in hand, they cross the road and walk off into the distance, not even glancing once in Huda's direction.

He is startled out of his daze by the beeping of horns and the annoyed tone in Priya's voice.

"Huda, what are you thinking about?" she asks, "The lights have changed, get the damn car going."

Huda drives, a smile now on his face. They are safe, they are well and he now knows where they are. At least he can try to ensure that the search never makes it to Lucknow.

Priya is confused by her partner's behaviour, ever since they had passed through Lucknow he has been smiling. She hasn't seen him in this good a mood since they first met.

"What's up, Huda?" she asks, "You're in a good mood today, are you happy that we didn't find them?"

Huda laughs, "Very funny, Priya. Just don't put it into your report or they might be assigning you a new partner soon."

"Don't worry," she tells him, "Your secret is safe with me."

Huda just keeps smiling.

The whole drive he has been considering what he had seen that day, and by the time he reaches his quarters he has finally worked it out. Naina is still wearing his ring, which means that she hasn't forgotten her promise. But the way she had smiled at Captain Rajveer, she has never smiled that way at Huda, not even once.

His realisation of the truth has been coming on slowly now, although for a long time he has tried to pretend that nothing had changed.

Huda doesn't know why Naina had promised to marry him, but he does know that she doesn't love him. Today, for the first time, the thought doesn't disturb him. A few months ago, Huda hadn't cared whether Naina loved him or not, it was enough for him that she was his, and he had believed that eventually she would give in, she would develop feelings for him. Today he realises how stupid he had been to be ready to compromise both their lives like that. The fact that his ring is still on Naina's finger means that she isn't going to break her promise, that she still intends to come back and marry him, no matter what her feelings are.

Restless, and needing to do something, Huda leaves his quarters and walks down to the phone reserved for the use of officers. He looks up the number of the officer's quarters in Ladakh and dials, requesting that the person on the other end get Aalekh Sharma for him.

"Ha, bol." Aalekh's voice on the other end of the line is unmistakable, and Huda suddenly misses him a great deal.

"It's me." He tells Aalekh, knowing that his friend will recognise his voice.

"What is it, Huda?"

"I'm finally ready to answer those questions you asked me." Huda tells him. There is silence on the other end as Aalekh waits for Huda to continue.

"Aalekh, the fact is that I don't need to die for Naina, or go to jail for her, or sacrifice my reputation. Because there's already somebody who is willing to do those things for her. But if I've ever loved her even a little then there is something I can do for her. I can give her up."

Huda is relieved now that he's finally said it, his decision has become even more firm now.

"Bole to, I'm proud of you Huda." Aalekh tells him.

"Thanks Qaidi," Huda replies, "Say hi to the others for me. Tell them that I'll call back on Saturday for a chat." Aalekh promises, and they say goodbye and hang up.

Once back in his room, Huda feels lighter as if he has suddenly shed a heavy burden. He supposes that the lie he'd been telling himself had been quite weighing on him..

He has made his decision now and he won't change it. The only problem is how long he'll have to wait until he tells Naina.

The next day when Priya meets Huda in the office she can't believe how much happier he seems, she knows there is something different about him but she can't figure out what.

It takes her until lunch time to work it out.

He is no longer wearing his engagement ring.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

The apartment belongs to one of Anwar's friends, and they can have it for only a very low monthly price for as long as Raj works for him. Anwar had been more than friendly when Raj turned up looking for a job, apparently he had liked Aalekh so much that any friend of Aalekh's is now welcome to join his small garage.

After giving the keys to the apartment to Raj, Anwar informs him that he can start work the next day. Raj thanks him then heads back to the hotel to collect Naina.

When they arrive at the apartment she surveys the room, taking in the peeling paint on the walls, the lack of most furniture, and once again, only one bed. The apartment is barely more than one room, the bed in one corner with two screens in front of it to shield it from view. The 'kitchen' is in another corner and consists of a bench with a portable gas stove and a sink. There is a great deal of dust settled on everything, leaving Raj to assume that nobody has used the apartment for awhile. Another door leads to a small simple bathroom. Raj is expecting Naina to be horrified but she just shrugs.

"Well it's better than the ashram." She tells him.

"Good," he replies, "Because this is going to be our home either until we work out a new plan or until somebody catches up with us."

"Well then," Naina says, sighing in resignation "Let's go and get some things to make the place liveable."

"And a couple of extra pairs of clothes." Raj adds.

"Just make sure we don't go on too big of a shopping spree," Naina warns, "Or people will think that we're not as poor as we're pretending to be."

"Well I guess that means I'll have to forget about those new jeans…"

They leave the house and head towards the closest bazaar, pausing at a busy intersection. Naina still isn't comfortable wearing a burqa, as somebody who has trained as a soldier, she is used to wearing outfits that don't restrict her movement or interfere with her vision. Annoyed with not being able to see the road properly and worried about crossing, she sweeps the veil off her face with one hand.

"Cover yourself up Begum Jaan, if you keep showing your face like that then at least two or three drivers are bound to crash." Raj tells her humorously, wanting to lighten the mood. Naina looks up at him and smiles, wondering if he had intended to make the comment quite so flirtatious. For a moment Raj forgets the world around them, enchanted by the way her smile lights up her entire face. "Come on," He finally tells her, "I'll help you across the road." He offers her his hand, half expecting her to refuse it out of pride but Naina placed her hand into his, lowers her veil again and they step onto the road and head towards the bazaar.

Two hours later they have bought everything they can to improve the apartment without somebody guessing that they have more money than they should have. Raj also buys new locks for the front door and the door leading to their tiny balcony, wanting to make sure that Naina will be safe while he is at work. They also buy the ingredients for their evening meal, and some material for new clothes, which they leave with a tailor to be picked up in a couple of days.

It is not yet dark when they arrive back, and they make use of the remaining daylight to get the apartment cleaned up. An old carpet on the floor, new sheets on the bed, some pots and plates added to the kitchen. Suddenly the apartment looks less empty and more like a home.

Once their new home has been made more liveable, they begin preparing dinner.

"I didn't know that you knew how to cook, Sir." Naina says, pleasantly surprised when he starts chopping up the vegetables.

"Naina, I've been in the army for years, if I didn't know how to cook for myself by now then I would've had to always rely on food in the mess. I can't make anything fancy, but I can feed myself." Sneaking a look sideways at her, he notices how confident she is adding ingredients to the pot. "To tell the truth, I didn't know that you could cook either."

Naina shrugs, "I was the only girl at home and Ma wanted me to learn. I never used to cook that much while I lived with them, but I would cook for Navin when he was at home to try to impress him." She smiles at the memory before her face falls, avoiding looking at Raj in case he sees the tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter, Naina?" Raj asks, knowing that something is wrong, "Are you thinking about Navin?"

"No," Naina tells him, "I was thinking about my parents. I can't even let them know where I am or what I'm doing and for the second time, one of their children has been accused of being a traitor."

Raj hesitates, he wants to comfort Naina but he is very aware of the boundaries between them, boundaries that he shouldn't cross. Finally taking his decision, he puts an arm around Naina's shoulders loosely and hugs her very lightly.

"We'll sort this out, Naina." He promises her, "We'll bring your parents their lost honour back, all of it."

Naina trusts him. Because if she doesn't have this much hope, there is nothing to keep fighting for.

/

Two weeks have passed since Huda and Priya's trip to Benaras and Priya continues to be amazed by how Huda has changed. It is as if Huda has found a sense of peace; he doesn't get angry so easily at everything she says, he has even starting joking with her. Priya knows she shouldn't become attached to him, that she has to be impartial for her mission's sake, but Huda intrigues her. She can't help thinking that there are things about this case that she doesn't know, and in the end she is scared to find out what they might be.

The day after they had arrived back in Delhi, she and Huda had gone to Abhimanyu's office to report their findings to him. He had listened in silence and then congratulated them for their hard work. Huda had been radiating anger and unhappiness ever since they entered the office, and Priya had been afraid that he was going to say something he shouldn't.

"Lieutenant Huda, wait." Captain Abhimanyu had called out just as they were about to leave, both of them had turned around and Huda had stiffly stood to attention.

"Look, Huda," Abhimanyu had begun, his tone friendly, "I know that it feels like you're betraying your friends, but really you're just doing your duty. And you should feel proud of that."

"You would know a lot about that, wouldn't you, Sir?" Huda had replied, his tone dripping with hate.

"You're out of line, Lieutenant Huda." Abhimanyu had answered angrily, standing up from his chair.

"Of course I am, Sir. Because you were only doing your duty when you betrayed Naina and Rajveer Sir, and that makes it all okay."

"I didn't betray them," Abhimanyu said, "And Raj deserved to be punished after what he did to Navin. I feel absolutely no regret about what happened to him at all. I do regret what happened with Naina, she should never have been involved in the whole mess."

"Did you ever think, Sir?" Huda has asked Abhimanyu, "That you couldn't save Navin, and then when Rajveer Sir tried to prove his innocence, you condemned your other friend to death too?"

"Huda, we are soldiers." Abhimanyu told him angrily, "As a good soldier I do my duty, if Raj had been a good soldier then he would've done his duty too." He had sat down at his desk again, "You're both dismissed."

Priya turned to go, but she stopped as Huda spoke again, "Sir, today I'll share with you something that Captain Rajveer taught us, something I've never forgotten. To be a good soldier, first of all you need to be a good person." Then angrily he strode from the room, Priya had followed him quickly, wanting to get away from Abhimanyu before he took his own anger out on her.

When they had been back at their own desks she had asked Huda something that had puzzled her about the conversation. "Huda, what did Captain Shekawat do to Navin Ahluwalia that Captain Abhimanyu thought he should be punished for?"

"He killed him." Huda replied simply, then on seeing Priya's astonished look, he told her the whole story of what had happened between Raj and Navin, and how Navin had asked Raj to end his life.

Now, two weeks later, Priya keeps thinking about that conversation. For months she has thought that she knew who was right and who was wrong. Now she is beginning to wonder whether what she knows is really the truth at all. Why would Naina choose to support her brother's killer instead of her own fiancé?

Heading back to her quarters, Priya finds Pooja looking through a photo album.

"Hey Pooja," Priya greets her, "What's that?"

"Just looking at some old MMS's." Pooja informs her. "Ali called before and I was missing him terribly so I thought if I looked at some photos I'd feel a bit better. Do you want to see?"

Nodding, Priya sits down next to Pooja and looks at the album, Pooja turns it back to the very first page.

"This is Ali," she shows Priya "I can't believe that I haven't shown you his photo before this. How silly of me." The photo is of a very serious young man, but there is a kindness in his face that's easy to see.

"He doesn't look like the kind of guy I thought you would fall in love with."

Pooja laughs, "That's true, nobody could ever have predicted that Ali and I would make a lifetime connection but somehow our networks work well together."

"Alright, now who's this?"

"That's Aalekh, our Qaidi!" seeing Priya in confusion, Pooja decides to explain "He was sent to KMA from a jail, so that he could be reformed. He might be a bit rough, but Aalekh is the best friend that you could ever have."

"And this?"

"That's Yudi, our dude!" Pooja giggles, "Yudi was always so much fun, he was a bit nervous, but he proved to everybody that you don't need big muscles to become a soldier."

"And who's this?"

"That's mucchad! Major Nair! He hated girls in the army and he tortured me so much. But I keep his photo there to remind me what I went through to get this far."

Flipping the page over, Priya spots a picture of Pooja and Naina, the two of them are laughing about something, their arms around each others shoulders.

"Naina was your good friend wasn't she?" Priya asks thoughtfully.

"Why?" Pooja replies, only slightly suspicious. She likes Priya but she doesn't want to reveal anything that might help catch Naina. Still, Pooja knows that the chances of her knowing anything that would compromise them are very small.

"I want to know a bit more about her," Priya admits, "For months I've been chasing her, with this idea of her in my mind. But the more I find out, the less I understand her." She looks down at the photo again, surely this laughing, happy girl couldn't be the most wanted traitor in the whole of India.

"Naina was always special." Pooja informs Priya, "She came to KMA to prove her brother innocent, and she never once lost sight of her mission. No matter how tough things got, she never gave up or admitted defeat. She was the best cadet in the academy."

"So was her brother…" Priya murmurs, remembering the case file. Then she speaks up, "Why is it that after everything she's done to him, Huda doesn't feel any anger towards her?"

Pooja smiles at that, "Besides me, Naina was the only girl in the entire academy that wasn't crazy about our Jat. She was the only one that ever had a hope of changing him. Huda pursued her for two years, and she only gave in three days before graduation."

"So you don't think that she was just using her engagement to him as a diversion? That she didn't really love him."

"A diversion?" Pooja thinks about it carefully, "No, the engagement was real for Naina. But you're right about one thing, she never really loved Huda."

Priya is stunned by this admission, "But Huda…"

Pooja cuts her off, continuing the sentence, "Huda knew that Naina didn't love him, but he was so crazy about her that he didn't care. It's lucky that he's finally decided to call off the engagement for real, I was worried that he would never do it since I know that Naina won't."

"Then what about Captain Rajveer? How did he fit into all of this?"

"Captain Rajveer was our teacher," Pooja tells her, a sad smile on her face, "He was the best teacher that we ever had and the best officer that we ever met. He was also Naina's mentor. He would've done anything for Naina, and he did. That's why…" Pooja stops suddenly, realising that she's said too much.

"So he loved her? Did she love him?"

"I don't know," Pooja replies with a sigh, "Nobody ever knew, maybe Aalekh would, but I don't. Whether they loved each other or not, those two always had a special bond."

"I don't know what to say," Priya tells Pooja, "I'm trying to understand it but nothing makes sense anymore. I can't understand anything at all."

"If you met them, then you'd understand." Pooja informs her.

"But why are you and Huda so loyal to them? I mean, I know that Naina was your friend and that you respect Captain Rajveer as your teacher, but they've committed a crime. They've betrayed the country by stealing our military's secrets and are trying to sell it to the enemy."

Pooja laughs, sounding amused. "Is that really what they've told you is in the red box?"

"Of course that's what's in the red box, what else could be in it?"

Pooja shakes her head in amazement, "People think that I'm naïve, but I think that you're even worse than me, Priya. That's not what's in the box."

"Then what is in the box?" Priya asks, becoming frustrated at the fact that everybody seems to know except her.

"What both Captain Rajveer and Naina desperately want, the proof of her brother's innocence. Along with evidence of a massive conspiracy within the military and government."

"And I'm supposed to believe this?" Priya asks, still in denial and wanting to believe the official story.

"You can believe what you want, Priya." Pooja says, flicking through the photo album until she reaches the end. There one picture stands out, Captain Rajveer is standing in the middle of all the cadets, one of his arms around Naina and the other around Aalekh, all of them are grinning at the camera. They all look so young and carefree. Suddenly Pooja closes the album. "But I know my friends, and I know that they're not traitors."

Priya wishes that there was an easy way to know the truth. She wonders whether Pooja and Huda are right, will she really never understand until she meets Naina and Captain Rajveer for herself?

/

Hundreds of miles away in Lucknow, Naina lies sleepless in the narrow bed, trying to pretend it doesn't matter to her that Raj is so close to her that she can feel the heat of his body. She tries to pretend that she doesn't want him to roll over in his sleep, throwing a protective and almost possessive arm around her. In the morning, when he wakes up hurriedly and gets out of bed, she'll pretend that she's asleep and that she never noticed him do it.

Raj rolls over, draping one arm over her waist, his face so close that she can feel his even breath on her skin. Naina tries to pretend that she doesn't regret ever making the promise, she prays for the strength not to break it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Some mornings when Naina wakes up, it takes a few minutes for her to remember exactly where she is and what she is doing there, to sort out the truth from what she pretends. Over the weeks, the lie has become more and more real, as she became more deeply immersed in it.

It is not such a wonderful life, but Naina almost wishes that she were Fatima and that Raj was Rehan. That their life was far less complicated, and they were just two people trying to make a living and survive. But she can never pretend for long, because something always reveals the truth. The guilty way that Raj looks at her as she makes them tea in the morning, as if he is feeling bad for once again hugging her in his sleep. The planning sessions that they hold, trying to figure a way out of this mess, the gun that they hide in the kitchen cupboard inside a pot.

In truth, Naina isn't sure why she hasn't gone crazy yet. At least Raj has a job, he can distract himself by working for a living. Naina probably would've died of boredom if Anwar's wife Hanifa hadn't befriended her. Anwar's wife isn't that much older than Naina is, and at least it gives Naina something to do during the day.

Most days, Raj and Naina's routine is the same. After they wake in the morning, Naina will make them both breakfast and then Raj will walk Naina to Anwar and Hanifa's house on the way to work. While Raj works, Naina stays with Hanifa, helping her to look after the younger children or going out with her in the city. Naina never forgets to wear her burqa, not wanting to be recognised again. In the afternoon, Raj will come to pick her up and they will walk home again, sometimes buying groceries. Twice he's taken her to see a movie, buying them popcorn to share. It's such a strangely normal life that Naina feels abnormal living it.

But today is a Sunday and Raj has the day off work, meaning that they have time to discuss their mission and conduct some planning. They sit on the rug on the floor, with various pieces of paper spread around them.

"The problem is in proving the identity of the boss." Raj muses, it's the same problem that they haven't been able to find the answer to for months now. Navin hadn't known who the boss was, so he had never been able to collect any evidence against him. Raj and Naina suspect that they know the identity of the man, but they have nothing to back up their allegations.

Naina sighs in frustration, there is absolutely nothing that the two of them can do, which is why they are stuck waiting and planning until an opportunity arises. If they expose the evidence against the rest of the traitors now, then it is likely that the boss will be able to get away.

"How long are we going to hide for?" Naina asks Raj, "Our entire lives? How long is it going to take us to work out how to trap him?" Beginning to get upset she asks him tearfully, "Will it always be this way? On the run, pretending to be somebody else, not able to be with our family and friends?"

"That's why I never wanted you mixed up in this, Naina." Raj answers her with a tired sigh, "There's no easy solution to this and I can't figure a way out of it. If we use this evidence to prove ourselves innocent then we lose our opportunity to punish Gehlot Saheb."

Naina remembers the night that she had found out about the boss vividly, because it had been the last night she had seen Raj before his arrest. He had climbed in her window, placing his hand over her mouth so that she didn't make a sound when he woke her.

At first when she had seen him she had been so happy that she couldn't speak, she had thought it must mean that he'd been successful. That he would be able to prove both himself and Navin innocent, however the next words he had said had ruined all of her hopes.

"I don't know how much time I have here," he had told her seriously, "So listen carefully to what I need to tell you, there are people after me and I don't know how long I can escape from them."

He had told her where he had hidden the red box, and that she should only go and find it after her graduation. The next thing he had said had shocked her.

"Naina, I think I've finally found out who the boss is."

"Who?" she had whispered, desperate to know. This was the person they had been searching for, the person who was responsible for everything.

"I arranged to meet Gehlot Saheb, I wanted to hand over the information that was in the red box to him. I was waiting for him to arrive when I was ambushed, and I barely escaped from there alive." Naina could clearly hear the pain of betrayal in Raj's voice, that the man he had always trusted, the man he had regarded as his mentor, had been lying to him all along.

"I have no other option than to believe that he betrayed me, Naina, and that means that he's involved in this. Don't trust him."

Not long afterwards, Raj had left, and the next morning he had been caught. From that moment onwards, Naina's life had never been the same. She had lived with the knowledge that Raj's life was in danger and she was the only one who could save it. She had realised that everything so far had happened because of her, and in many ways she was the only one who could fix it.

Leaving her thoughts of the past behind, Naina returns to their present problem.

"So we keep waiting," Naina states the obvious, "Waiting for an opportunity."

"Or we create one…" Raj says, an idea obviously beginning to form in his mind. "We have to trap him in some way, if we could make him think that we already have evidence against him that we can use, then maybe he'll do something to expose himself."

"It's a good plan," Naina tells him, "But carrying it out is going to be complicated. He needs to believe that we actually have that evidence and that it's in his best interest to make a deal with us."

But try as they might, they just couldn't find a way.

"You know what," Naina tells him, "The speed with which we're managing to make a plan, I think we'll be spending our whole life with these identities."

"Would that really be so terrible?" Raj asks her wistfully, "Rehan and Fatima aren't that bad, sure I don't enjoy being a mechanic, but there could be worse lives."

"Well," Naina tells him, "If I'm going to spend my whole life as Fatima I think I'd like a slightly better apartment."

"Oh, so now you're getting greedy, Begum Jaan." Raj teases her, "You weren't so attracted to wealth when you married this poor man."

Naina laughs, and then suddenly realises how easily they've begun joking about these things, how easily they've adjusted to this life.

"Raj, we haven't really given up have we?" she asks him seriously, "We haven't lost hope of accomplishing our mission have we?"

"Never," he replies, "And we never will. Even if it takes years, we'll eventually be victorious. We have to be." He reaches out and takes Naina's hand. The action had been meant to comfort her, but Naina thinks that Raj probably needs the comfort just as much. She has to stay strong for him, they have to stay strong for each other.

Naina wants to believe him, she really does. But that day of victory seems to be a much longer way off than she would want it to be.

/

It has been five months. Five long months since Naina disappeared from her house, slightly less than that since Captain Rajveer disappeared from the prison transport. Since the trip to Benares, the task force has had little real work to do, and has occasionally been assigned other jobs instead just to keep them working. There are occasional sightings which always turn out to be false, much to Huda's relief.

He can't believe that in just five months so much has changed. Five months ago, he was excited to be getting engaged to his Phoolan, believing that he would spend the rest of his life with her. Today, he's astonished at how much his feelings for Naina have faded. The more he thinks about it, the more he feels that he had been infatuated with her. If he had truly loved her, then he would've thought more about her happiness, he would've realised that he wasn't the one that she truly wanted.

Huda can't believe how easy it is… to live without her. He feels a little guilty about it, about wanting to move on. Not because he thinks that staying engaged to Naina would be the right thing to do, but because Naina doesn't know that he's ready to move on. It's strange that he can have changed so much, and she has no idea.

"Hey Huda," Priya calls out, suddenly appearing behind him and interrupting his thoughts, "Coffee?" She puts the cup down in front of him without needing to ask whether he actually wants it, and heads back to her desk, sipping her own mug.

Huda isn't sure what it is he feels for Priya, his relationship with her is completely opposite to his relationship with Naina. They get on well together, and he enjoys talking with her, joking with her, and even flirting with her. He doesn't feel the same intense obsession for her that he had felt for Naina, but this is probably a good thing. It was that obsession that had clouded his judgement, making him want Naina under any circumstances, even if it would ruin both their lives.

Huda has ended that chapter of his life, but he knows that he'll never really be free until he knows that Naina no longer feels the need to keep her promise to him. Then he can truly move on.

To make himself feel better he calls her parents every few weeks, keeping them updated on the lack of any progress. Huda knows that Aalekh has been calling them too, trying to keep their spirits up.

Just then Huda's mobile rings, and recognising the number he smiles. Aalekh must have known that Huda was thinking about him since he's calling.

But when Huda hears Aalekh's voice on the other end of the line, it sounds like he's in pain, and quite tired. "Huda, it's me." Aalekh begins, and Huda immediately started to worry.

"Aalekh, what is it, what's wrong?"

"Huda, get permission and bring Pooja here quickly." Huda is struck by a sudden fear, if Aalekh wants Pooja there then something must have happened to Ali, please don't let him be…

Priya turns around hearing the fear in Huda's voice and is stunned by how pale he is. She takes a step forward, wanting to know what is wrong.

"Aalekh, just tell me what's wrong before I go crazy, nothing has happened to Ali has it?"

Hearing this sentence, Priya turns pale too. She's never met Ali, but she knows how much Pooja loves him and has heard enough stories about him from both Pooja and Huda to feel she knows him.

Aalekh's voice on the other end is faint, but Huda can still make it out. "There was an attack and Ali got shot. He'll live but he's lost a lot of blood. If you could bring Pooja here then it would be good for him."

"Don't worry, Aalekh." Huda informs him, "I'll go and get permission right now, and we'll leave today. Tell Ali that his Punjaben is on the way, it's this Jat's promise."

Understanding from this comment that Ali is still alive, Priya gives a sigh of relief. Huda hangs up the phone and quickly fills her in on what has happened.

"I've got to take her there as quickly as possible." Huda tells Priya, "Once she finds out she's going to become hysterical."

Priya nods, and then remembers something. "Huda, do you realise that to get permission to leave for a few days you're going to have to ask Captain Abhimanyu?"

Huda curses, this is the last bit of trouble he needs at the moment. He is already worried about his Osoolbhai, and while Aalekh hadn't said anything about himself, he didn't sound so great on the phone either.

"Alright," he tells Priya, "Then I'll go and deal with the singing gypsy."

Come what may, nothing will stop him from keeping his promise.

/

"Sir, may I please come inside?" Huda calls out, knocking on Abhimanyu's door.

Abhimanyu looks up in surprise, the last time Huda had talked to him this politely had been, well, never.

"Of course, Lieutenant Huda, come in." He answers, curious to know what it is that Huda wants. Priya walkes in just after Huda, standing slightly behind him as if to lend him support. Huda stands at attention, waiting for Abhimanyu to give him permission to speak.

"Well go on," Abhimanyu says, becoming a bit impatient.

"Sir, Aalekh just called to say that Ali has been shot in Ladakh. He has requested that I bring Pooja as soon as possible."

"Is Lieutenant Baig alright?" Abhimanyu asks, sounding concerned. He remembers Ali as a very polite and sincere boy, always dedicated to becoming a good officer.

"He's in a stable condition, Sir, but Aalekh thinks it would be best if I brought Pooja."

Abhimanyu thinks about the request, as much as he can't stand Huda, he has nothing against either Pooja or Ali. However, there is a doubt at the back of his mind.

"And how do I know that visiting Lieutenant Ali is the only thing you'll be doing?" He asks suspiciously, "The last time you were all in the same place at once, some people helped Captain Rajveer to escape from army custody."

Priya looks up suddenly at this but Huda's expression doesn't change. "You know I didn't have anything to do with that, Sir."

"Still," Abhimanyu replies, "I don't know if I can trust you enough to let you go."

"Sir," Priya speaks up, "If it would help then I'm willing to go with them to, uh, make sure that there are no ulterior motives."

Abhimanyu looks at her curiously, for the past year Lieutenant Kapoor has been an excellent officer, always dedicated to her duty. It isn't like her to be placing herself on the line for someone like this. It couldn't be that she…

"Are you sure, Lieutenant Kapoor?" he asks, "If anything goes wrong then it will be your responsibility."

"I'm sure, Sir." Priya replies, praying that nothing is going to go wrong.

"Then you've got permission to be away for three days, please tell Lieutenant Baig that I hope he's feeling better soon."

/

"Thanks, Priya." Huda tells her, once they are on their way to pick up Pooja, "You don't know how big a favour you've done me."

"I didn't do it for you, Huda." She replies, "I did it for Pooja, I know how much Ali means to her."

They have already been back to their quarters to pack their bags, and Priya had packed some clothes for Pooja as well. Now they are on their way to pick up Pooja from where she is in her classes. She doesn't know what has happened yet, as Huda hadn't wanted to tell her over the phone.

Once they arrive at the institute, Huda gives a letter to request Pooja's absence and is relieved that it is approved quickly. Then he asks them to call Pooja from her class.

Seeing both of them standing there, Pooja smiles as she walked out. "Arre wah, are you bunking work today? Want me to run away from class too?"

Then Pooja suddenly notices the serious looks on their faces and her expression changes to one of fear. "There's something wrong, isn't there Huda?" she asks. "I know there's something wrong, just tell me what it is, right now."

Walking over to her, Huda grabs Pooja's shoulders and holds them tightly. "You're going to have to be brave, Punjaben…" he tells her, but can't continue because Pooja cuts him off.

"It's not Ali is it?" And then seeing the look on his face, "No! Nothing can happen to Ali, nothing has happened! Tell me that nothing has happened to Ali, Huda!" she screams at him, becoming hysterical. Priya steps forward then, wanting to comfort Pooja, but unsure how.

"He's fine, Punjaben, he's alive." Huda reassures her, and Pooja breaks into tears of relief, "Thank God…" she whispers, "Then?"

"Ali was shot, but he's out of danger now." Huda tells her, "Aalekh asked me to bring you."

Wiping her tears, Pooja nods. "Can we leave right now?"

/

Hours later they all arrive in Ladakh exhausted, they had managed to catch an army transport flight, then driven the rest of the way to the base. Huda knows that Pooja is trying to be brave, but she keeps crying, unable to stop herself.

Finally they arrive at the army base and show their identification to the guard at the front. Once they are let in, Huda has to stop Pooja from running to reach the base hospital, but they go as fast as they can.

Once they reach the hospital and Pooja has found out Ali's room number, she does start running, not caring about the nurses that she pushes past in the corridor. Finally finding Ali's room she flings the door open and reaches his bedside, throwing her arms around him.

"Pooja?" Ali asks, sounding much weaker than he usually does, "You're here? I didn't want you to find out about this, I thought that you…"

"You didn't want me to know?" she asks him accusingly, "Here you are with a bullet wound and you're worried about my feelings? You should know by now that nobody can keep this Heer from her Ranjha!" Ali smiles, and strokes Pooja's hair with his good arm, as the other one is strapped to his chest. He has a bullet wound in his shoulder, the reason for alarm was that the bullet had not exited on impact and he had needed an operation to have it removed. "And I never would've even found out if our Qaidi hadn't called Huda!"

Ali looks over to his left to the young man who is sitting in the chair, "Aalekhbhai, you shouldn't have worried Pooja like this…" Aalekh just shrugs, not feeling sorry for doing it at all.

Right then Huda and Priya burst into the room, only slightly calmer than Pooja had been.

"Thank goodness you're fine!" Huda tells Ali, coming over to hug him now that Pooja has stopped clinging to Ali and is sitting on the bed. Then suddenly he notices Aalekh sitting in the chair, "Aalekh, what happened to you?" Aalekh's head is covered with a bandage, which has a blood stain on it.

"I'm fine," Alekh tells him, "I was injured slightly when somebody threw a grenade, nothing major."

"Oh, so you guys have finally arrived." Yudi says cheerfully, walking into the room with two cups in his hands, "I can see I'm going to have to go get some more coffee now."

Yudi looks fine except he is limping slightly, his leg hurt due to the same grenade blast which had injured Aalekh.

Suddenly Huda feels an immense wave of regret. He should've been here with them on the border, helping them. It isn't fair that his friends are in danger here and he is safely working at a desk in Delhi.

"I wish I could've been here with you guys," Huda tells them, feeling frustrated, "If I'd been here then…"

"Then you probably would've got injured too." Aalekh informs him with a shrug.

Just then Yudi notices the other person in the room. "Uh, Huda, Pooja, have you forgotten something?"

"What?" Huda asks, confused, and then seeing Yudi nod in the direction of the door, turns to see Priya still standing there quietly. "I can't believe I forgot," he says, "Sorry, it's just that with you guys injured like this… anyway guys, this is Priya, my partner at headquarters. Priya, this is Ali, Aalekh and Yudi."

They all say hello to each other and Aalekh and Yudi leave to get some more chairs. For the next few hours they sit together chatting about what has been going on in their lives, everything that the others have missed out on. Priya mainly stays quiet, letting the friends speak but they occasionally involve her, telling her funny stories about their academy days. They only leave when they see that Ali is struggling to keep his eyes open, due to the heavy pain medication in his system.

The next two days follow the same type of pattern. When they have all gotten up in the morning they come to Ali's room and sit there for most of the day chatting. The only times this doesn't happen is when they decide that Ali and Pooja should have some time alone. Ali's parents call every day to talk to him but they can't afford to come visit, so they are relieved that Pooja has come to see him.

On the last day, Huda finally gets the opportunity to speak to Aalekh alone, just a couple of hours before they are due to leave. Taking him outside of the hospital take a seat a short distance away, making sure that nobody is within earshot. Huda had noticed that as he and Aalekh had left the hospital room, Priya had looked away, almost as if she didn't want to see. That way she wouldn't have to report anything.

"I saw them, Aalekh." Huda tells him, and then recounts the whole story.

"They're safe there," Aalekh replies, "They're with a friend of mine." He doesn't say anything else, but Huda doesn't care. The less he knows, the less lies he has to tell.

"I want Phoolan to know that I've ended the engagement for real," Huda tells Aalekh, "I don't want her sacrificing her own happiness for my sake. Who knows how long it will be before I can see her in person to tell her this, can you find some way to pass on the message?"

Aalekh stares at him curiously, this serious young man is completely different to the Huda he knew a few months ago. "Why, Huda?" he asks, "Why are you so eager to end it right now?"

"Because the sooner I do this, the sooner I can move on properly." Huda replies, "Naina deserves some happiness, and that happiness is with Captain Rajveer. And I, well I deserve some happiness too." Aalekh pats Huda on the back, happy that he's made the decision.

"You know, I was never happy about you two getting engaged." He tells Huda.

"I know," Huda replies, "You always know the truth a long time before anybody else does."

"Actually, I just couldn't imagine Naina living with you and your buffaloes." They laugh, forgetting for a moment exactly how serious the matter is.

"You like that girl, don't you?" Aalekh asks, obviously referring to Priya.

"I don't know, yaar. I think I do. She's… different. Different from Naina, different from everybody. I think that I could like her a lot."

Aalekh smiles, he's fairly sure that Huda is well on his way to falling head over heels in love.

"Well then," Aalekh tells him, "Consider your work done." Smiling, they walk back to the hospital.

A few hours later they say goodbye, needing to leave so that they can get back to Delhi on time. Pooja becomes tearful, and everybody leaves the room to allow her and Ali to say goodbye in privacy.

"We'll see you guys soon," Yudi informs Huda, "We get leave in a couple of months, so we can all catch up then."

They all hug each other goodbye, and even Priya wishes that they didn't have to go just yet, she's grown to like them so much in the past few days.

A few hours later in the car, Pooja is asleep in the back seat, exhausted after spending most of the night awake sitting beside Ali.

"You and your friends are really close, aren't you?" Priya asks Huda thoughtfully.

"They're like family to me." He tells her, "I would do anything for them. We'd all do anything for each other."

"I had friends among my batch mates, but never like that." Priya responds, "We've mainly lost touch since we graduated."

"Maybe it was KMA that made us such good friends," Huda muses, "Or maybe it was Captain Rajveer."

Priya looks at him questioningly, not quite able to understand his statement.

"Our Rajveer Sir taught us to always be there for each other." He explains to her, "He set a perfect example of friendship, despite the fact that Navin was already dead, he was still ready to give his life to prove his innocence. If any of us are excellent officers today, then most of the credit goes to Rajveer Sir."

Priya thinks about this, "You would do anything for Captain Rajveer too, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," Huda tells her, "Without hesitation."

"Then his rescue…"

"Wasn't done by me." Huda responds truthfully, "But if anybody had asked me to participate then I would've done so gladly."

Priya is surprised at his honesty, he must trust her a lot to admit something like that and she feels honoured by it.

"You would do so much for him," she remarks quietly, "Even after he took Naina away from you."

"He didn't take Naina away from me." Huda replies, no bitterness or sadness in his voice. "Naina was always his. It was me that took her away from him." He pauses and a smile comes to his face, "But now I've made it right again. Naina is free to be with the one she's meant to be with."

Priya has no idea about what this last sentence means, or why Huda seems so happy about it. But for the first time ever, she has begun to understand the bond between these friends. For the first time she questions whether if faced with the choice, can she pull the trigger? Can she put her duty before what is right, before… the truth?


	11. Chapter 11

guest reviewer - Thank you so much! I have tweaked the story a little from it's original version, mainly just fixing the grammar up a bit, but also slight changes where I now think something will fit better. I'll be starting to add My Cadet slowly up after this until it's done, and then... A New Fic! I'm super excited, as I'm inspired to write for them again and have a few concepts, one of which is almost finished and ready to post, so I hope you'll enjoy it :)

**Chapter** **Eleven**

_Two days later…_

They have just finished an evening meal at Anwar and Hanifa's house when Anwar clears his throat, causing Raj and Naina to look expectantly towards him. "Rehan, I forgot to tell you, but Aalekh called me today."

"Oh really," Raj replies, trying to sound calm but nervous for what this could mean, the need to run never far from his mind. "What did he say?"

"Well he said that he's been seeing a bit of action lately up on the border, he and his friends have suffered some injuries but they're all fine."

"That's good to know." Raj replies, reaching out to hold Naina's hand under the table, knowing that this news will shock her. "I just hope that Alekhbhai remains safe."

"Oh he said something else, what was it now, he was talking about somebody that he said you would know, some Huda." Raj can feel Naina stiffen, her hand becoming rigid in his.

"So what did he say about Hudabhai?" Raj asks, continuing to sound casual. "I haven't seen him in quite some time now."

"Well he was saying that this Huda has chosen to end his engagement, apparently he realised that the girl wasn't right for him. Anyway, Aalekh was saying that he thought Huda had already found somebody else so it all turned out alright in the end."

This is the last news that Raj had ever expected to hear, and for a moment he can't respond. Recovering slightly, he realises that he should make a comment. "Well that's really surprising," he tells Anwar, "I hadn't realised that he'd called off the engagement, thank you for letting me know."

Raj glances over at Naina, wondering how she is taking this news. After all she has just been informed that her fiancé has broken off their engagement. Raj is surprised by the look in Naina's eyes. There is no sorrow, no anger or disappointment. Instead he can only see a strange mixture of relief and… fear.

Raj couldn't have guessed what was going through Naina's mind at that moment. What Naina sees in Raj's eyes is concern for her, and hope. The same hope that she has been pretending to ignore for all these months, not able to admit that she feels it too. Naina knows that tonight she will have to make a decision. While she had been engaged to Huda she had been able to ignore it, but now it becomes necessary. Raj has no idea why she had agreed to become engaged to Huda in the first place, now, tonight, she has an idea that she won't be able to conceal it anymore.

It is time for Naina Singh Ahluwalia to face her demons. It is time for her to tell him the truth.

/

When they arrive home Raj waits, waits for Naina to say something, anything. However Naina appears to be determined to avoid the conversation, instead moving to the kitchen to make some chai. Raj notices her hands shaking as she tries to put the tea in the pot but fails again and again. Moving towards her, he takes the spoon out of her hands and does it himself, before grabbing her hands in his.

"Naina, talk to me." Raj stares down at her, waiting.

"What should I tell you?" Naina whispers, avoiding looking him in the eye.

"Are you that hurt by it?" Raj asks, his heart aching at the thought, "Did you really love him?"

"Why else would I get engaged to him?" Naina replies with a question, but there is something false about her words, as if she is trying too hard to get him to stop asking.

Naina takes her hands out of Raj's and starts stirring the pot on the stove, turned away from him.

"You know, Naina," Raj begins carefully, "That's the same question I've been wanting to ask you for months." And then he takes the spoon out of her hands and places it on the bench, turning her back around to face him.

"The milk will boil over," Naina tells him nervously, reaching for the spoon again.

In reply, Raj reaches over and turns the stove off. "There, happy?" he asks her, "We'll make the tea after we've talked."

"Raj, please…" Naina trails off, as if asking him to just leave the conversation there.

Instead Raj grabs her shoulders, holding her so that she can't look away. "Did you love him, Naina? Answer my question properly."

Angrily, Naina shrugs his hands off her shoulders and moves away, "How can you ask me that? Are you saying that I would get engaged to someone I don't love?"

"Just answer my question, damn it!" Raj yells at her, frustrated by her continued evasive answers.

"No!" She screams back at him, "I never loved him!" And then suddenly realising what she has said, she stares at Raj in horror, before hurriedly walking away.

But Raj isn't ready to give up. All of these months he's forced himself to stay away from her. Forced himself to forget how much he wants her, how much he aches for her. All of these months he did so, not because he believed she loved Huda, but because he didn't want to force her to break her vow.

"You are not going to walk away from me Naina," Raj tells her, crossing the room in quick strides and grabbing her wrist to swing her back around to face him. "If you didn't love Huda then why did you do this? Were you really willing to ruin all three of our lives?"

Naina stares at him in astonishment, not ready to believe what he'd just said, what he'd just admitted.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She tells him, even as she struggles to free her wrist from his grip. But Raj is stronger than her, and he is not going to let go until she tells the truth.

"Don't pretend, Naina." Raj continues, grabbing her other wrist with his remaining hand. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"Don't do this, Raj." She pleads with him, "Don't say it."

"Don't say what?" He asks her, practically screaming now. "That I love you? That I'm crazy about you? That I'd do anything for you? That when I heard you'd got engaged to Huda it was like someone had stabbed me in the heart?" Naina stares at him in shock, and a tear rolls down her cheek at his words. "Don't pretend that you didn't know, Naina. I had hoped that… I had believed that…"

Raj looks into her eyes, trying to work out what it is that she is feeling and what it is that she is concealing. "Do you love me, Naina?"

Naina looks away again, biting her bottom lip. Raj knows that she hates to lie, and he knows that she is preparing herself to. "No," she tells him, far too quickly, "No I don't."

"Don't lie to me, Naina." He replies in a dangerously quiet voice, "Not tonight. This has gone far enough, and after everything we've been through, tonight you have to tell the truth."

"I don't!" she yells at him, "I really, really…" But she never finished her sentence, because finally letting go of her arms, Raj presses forward and kisses her. Naina had never imagined that he would kiss her like this, with both passion and anger. Raj kisses her with a desperation Naina has never seen in him before, so much passion that she is having trouble remembering why she ever refused him in the first place. He kisses her as if he is breathing her in, as if he wants to melt into her.

By the time Raj pulls away, she has long stopped struggling and has started kissing him back instead. When Raj breaks off the kiss they stand there staring at each other, barely centimetres apart and breathing hard.

"Why Naina, why?" he asks her, his voice full of pain.

"Because I loved you too much to ruin your life." She whispers, almost afraid to admit it.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Do you have any idea how I felt when you were missing for a month? Do you know how I felt when you were arrested? I knew what was happening to you, that they were torturing you. And do you know what I kept thinking?" Naina asks, practically crying now but fighting to keep the tears back. "I kept thinking that if you hadn't loved me then none of this would've happened and you would never have taken such a risk."

"But Naina, I…"

"No, listen, Raj." She knows that if she doesn't tell him tonight she never will at all. "You loved me enough to sacrifice your life for me, and how did I repay you? I shot you. I accused you. I mistrusted you. Now you ask yourself, was I in any way worthy of the love you had for me? No, I wasn't." Naina has begun crying in earnest now, "Trust me, Raj. You're better off without me, I don't deserve you and I'm not the right girl for you."

Raj stares at her, not able to believe that this is the reason she had gotten engaged to Huda.

"Naina, I can't believe that…" he stops, trying to work out exactly what he should say in reply. "Naina, even if you were right, you would've been ruining yours and Huda's lives too. Do you think you ever would've been happy? Do you think that he wouldn't have figured out you didn't love him? Do you think that he would've been happy then?"

Naina cries even harder, for the first time realising what a mistake she had made, how stupid she had been. She collapses to her knees on the floor, unable to stand any longer. Taking the engagement ring off her finger, she throws it at the wall, sobbing.

Raj kneels down on the floor beside her and takes her hands in his. All of his anger and frustration is gone and he is back to being the Raj that she knows. Gentle, kind, loving. He holds her hands tenderly as if he's afraid of hurting her.

"Naina," he whispers, and tilts her chin up with one hand so that she is looking at him, "I don't know which one of us does or doesn't deserve the other but I do know one thing, I will never want anyone except you."

Slowly he leans forward, placing one hand behind her head to tangle it in her hair. This time before Raj kisses her, he searches for consent in her eyes. Finding it, he closes the distance between them, kissing her gently, carefully, as if she is the most precious and delicate thing in the world, and he is afraid that he might break her. Bringing his hand forward, he cups her cheek, Naina is faintly aware that she is holding one of his hands, and that her other rests on his knee.

"I'm sorry, Naina." Raj tells her, "I shouldn't have been like that earlier."

"No, I'm sorry." She replies sincerely, "I can't believe how stupid I've been. I thought what I was doing was for the best, but you're right, it would've ruined all of our lives."

Wrapping his arms around her protectively, Raj hugs her, rocking her back and forth as if comforting a child. Naina places her arms around his neck, rests her head on his shoulder and closes her eyes, happy to finally be able to accept his comfort. Placing one arm around her back and the other under her legs, Raj lifts her easily and carries her to the bed, placing her there gently.

Naina looks at him questioningly but he shushes her and turns off the light before climbing into bed himself. Hugging Naina tightly to him, he kisses her on her shoulder and whispers to her to go to sleep.

Naina drifts off quickly, but wakes a couple of hours later, unable to work out why. She realises that she is too warm with Raj's arms wrapped around her securely and the heat from his body. Intending to free herself from his body, she finds herself turning to face him instead, Raj waking quickly at the movement. Neither of them had intended it, but their faces are so close together, and Raj raises a hand to caress Naina's cheek, thinking how beautiful she looks in the moonlight filtering in from the upper window.

Naina isn't sure why, but it seems right to kiss him at that moment, so she does. Raj isn't sure why, but there seems nothing wrong with deepening the kiss or even with slipping his hands underneath her kameez so that they're touching her soft skin. When Naina gasps into his mouth it just inspires him to deepen the kiss, his hands caressing her body. As their kissing becomes even more heated and urgent, Naina struggles to take off Raj's shirt, before running her hands over his chest, his back, enjoying the feel of his warm skin under her hands. When he begins to tug at her kameez to try and lift it off her, instead of objecting she finds herself helping him instead. Kissing down her neck, across her shoulder, Raj allows his hands to roam freely, encouraged even more by the murmurs that Naina keeps making. Finally, no more barriers of clothing stand between them and he hesitates, realising exactly how many consequences this next step has for both of them. He is a fugitive on the run, he has nothing to offer her. Not a home, not a family, not safety. "Naina…" he whispers, wanting to ask her if he should stop, or if they have already gone too far.

But by this stage Naina doesn't care anymore, she is sick of thinking about what is right or wrong, or what people will think of what she is doing. All she knows is that this is exactly where she is meant to be and that she wants him.

"Raj," she tells him, "I love you."

"I love you too," he replies, and she kisses him, arching her back so that their bodies are even closer together.

It is all the invitation that Raj needed.

/

The next morning Naina wakes to find Raj's arm around her, his legs entangled with hers and his face buried into the crook of her neck. Cautiously, Naina moves towards the edge of the bed, trying to disentangle herself from him, despite his murmurs of protest.

She gets up, her whole body aching, and begins searching for her clothes. When she finally finds them, flung in a heap a short way from the bed, she notices with a bit of annoyance that her kameez has been ripped. It is one of her favourites.

Glaring slightly in Raj's direction, she puts it on anyway and moves towards the kitchen, wanting to begin preparations for the day. It's then that Naina begins to giggle, unable to control herself.

Waking up, Raj raises himself, leaning on one elbow. "What's so funny?"

Naina points at the stove, where the pot from last night is still sitting, its contents intact.

"It's lucky you turned off the stove." She tells him, and Raj laughs too before getting up and coming over to her. Wrapping his arms around her waist from the back and leaning his chin on her shoulder, he turns his head to kiss her cheek.

"Why are you out of bed?" he asks her mischievously, "Who said that you could get up?"

"I thought I'd make us some tea." Naina tells him, enjoying the feel of his body against hers.

"Who cares about tea?" Raj asks.

"Don't you have to go to work?"

"Well, Naina, today is a Sunday." Raj informs her, "Therefore no work for me, which means that you should come back to bed with me right now."

Naina laughs and allows him to pick her up and carry her there. She is sure that she should be feeling guilty about something right now, but no matter how much she tries she just can't make herself feel bad.

Naina figures that they've both had enough guilt, pain and sorrow to last a life time. For at least a few moments, they can forget everything. For at least a few moments, they can try to be happy.

/

Huda is writing up his report on the trip to Ladakh that Captain Abhimanyu had insisted on when one of the office workers disturbs him.

"Lieutenant Amardeep Huda?" The man asks, "There's a package for you."

"Package?" Huda isn't expecting anything and he can't think of anybody who would want to send him anything either. "Who from?"

"I don't know," the man replies, "It was sent from somewhere in Delhi judging by its postmark."

"Well hand it over." Huda tells him, curious to see what it is. Handing over the parcel, the man walks away.

"Hey, who sent you something?" Priya asks, obviously bored with writing her own report. She rolls her chair over to his desk and peeks over his shoulder.

"Let's see." Huda replies and opens the package.

Inside it is a folded over note and a small jewellery box. Huda knows what is in the box even before he opens it. It is the engagement ring that he had given to Naina.

Priya is looking at him as if she is worried he might be upset, but Huda simply puts the ring down without any fuss and unfolds the note to read it.

_I'm sorry,_

_Give this to somebody who truly deserves you. No matter what happens, I'll always be your Phoolan._

A normal man might have been upset or angry but Huda laughs. Even when Naina agreed to breaking off their engagement she did it in a unique way.

Reading the note over his shoulder, Priya mouths the word 'Phoolan' in a confused way and then looks at Huda with an expression on her face which clearly says she is offended on his behalf even if he isn't.

This just makes Huda laugh even more.

"You know Priya that was always the problem." He tells her, smiling with only the slightest hint of regret. "She was always my Phoolan and never my Naina, and it took me far too long to figure it out."

"So what are you going to do now?" Priya asks, obviously concerned for him and not understanding why Huda doesn't seem more upset.

"Well, I think," Huda says, pausing as if thinking deeply. "That I'll go and get some coffee. Why don't you come with me? At this deeply depressing time I need the support of a pretty girl."

Priya raises her eyebrows at him, "Huda, your ex-fiancée just returned your ring and you're flirting with me. I now believe everything that Yudi told me about you."

"Well Priya, how am I meant to heal my wounded heart if I don't let you comfort me?" Huda asks her jokingly, "Don't you think I need your support in my time of sorrow?"

Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, he quickly adds. "Come on, yaar, I'm just telling you to come for coffee with me, it's not like I'm about to propose now that I've got the ring back!"

Laughing at this last sentence, Priya gives in. "Fine, let's go get some coffee and you can sob your heart out to me. But you'd better be paying."

/

Raj arrives home early from work with a smile on his face, knocking on the door in the special pattern they've agreed on to let Naina know it's him.

"You're back early," she tells him, not able to keep herself from smiling.

"I'm taking you out shopping," Raj informs her, bending down to kiss her cheek as he walks in, "Get ready and let's go."

"Shopping?" Naina asks, "Raj, what are we going to buy?"

"Don't worry," he tells her with a mysterious grin, "You'll find out when we get there."

They've never been short of money. Raj had removed almost his entire life savings from the bank when he had first disappeared and hidden it with the red box, that's the only reason they've had enough to survive on and carry out their plans until now.

Naina quickly moves behind the screen to change her outfit, knowing that the one she is wearing now is better suited to the house. She wonders why she is bothering, since nobody will see it underneath the burqa anyway.

They leave the apartment and Raj leads her through the bazaar, keeping a hand on her back so that he doesn't lose her in the crowd. Stopping in a street filled with gold shops he starts to lead her into one before she stops him with a hand on his arm.

"What are we doing here?" Naina whispers, "Are you crazy?"

Raj just smiles, "You've sent your ring back, and people will notice if you're not wearing one. I told Anwar that you had lost it and were devastated, his friend owns this shop and will give us a good price on a ring."

Fed up with looking at Raj through the black veil while discussing something so important, Naina lifts it from her face and stares at him in wonder, not believing that he had planned this all along when he asked her to come out.

"But…" she starts to say.

"You're mine," Raj tells her simply, "And I want my ring on your finger. I know that we can't get married right now, but at least I can give you this much."

Naina wants to kiss him right there and then, but knows that such an action would probably be frowned upon in the streets of Lucknow. She settles for giving him a look that clearly tells him how much she loves him. Raj gazes back at her with a smile that clearly communicates his own feelings.

It takes them awhile to pick out the ring, as Raj insists that it must be absolutely perfect and makes her try about twenty before they agree on one. It is beautiful in its simplicity, a thin band with a small diamond in the centre. It reminds Raj of her, and he knows it is the right one. Once that is done, Naina insists on picking one out for him too, choosing a men's band with the same type of patterning. Raj hands over the money and they take the rings with them, heading for home happily.

Once at home, Raj picks Naina up in his arms and swings her around while she laughs, then placing her back on the floor gently, he takes both her hands in his.

"Naina Singh Ahluwalia, if you will have me, then I'll always be with you, always support you and always love you." Raj tells her, when Naina nods smiling, he slides the ring onto her finger.

"Rajveer Singh Shekawat, if you'll have me, then I'll never leave you, never stop loving you and never betray you." Naina tells him and Raj leans down to kiss her on the mouth, signalling his yes. Grinning like mad, Naina slides the ring onto his finger. There is no party, no witnesses and they're both dressed plainly but Naina thinks that it is much better than her first ill fated engagement.

"You're mine." Raj tells her, "Never, ever leave me."

"Never." Naina promises him, and allows herself to be drawn into another kiss.

It's said that love makes people blind. Perhaps that's why neither of them noticed a man in the bazaar pause and examine them both carefully when Naina drew up her veil. Perhaps that's why neither of them saw him lingering outside the shop while they chose their rings, and when he followed them to their apartment, both of them were too happy to realise.

The detective from the Lucknow Police notes down the address and then hurries back to the station, to examine the poster that has been hanging on the wall for months now. It is without a doubt, the same people. Immediately he calls the number on the bottom of the poster, "Yes, I would like to report a sighting of Rajveer Singh Shekawat and Naina Singh Ahluwalia." He tells the person on the other end of the line, "Yes, I'm sure."

After months on the run, their past has finally caught up with them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

For the past hour Huda has become more and more nervous. He knows that something big is happening, because Captain Abhimanyu has been having a meeting with various senior officers of theirs for almost the past hour.

"What do you think is going on?" He asks Priya in a whisper, almost afraid that others will hear them. It's late in the afternoon, and they should all be heading home soon but they've been asked to stay back without being given a reason.

Finally the door opens and Abhimanyu walks out along with Colonel Bakshi. "Everybody I have an important announcement to make!" Colonel Bakshi tells them loudly, and the room immediately hushes, "We have a confirmed sighting of Captain Shekawat and Ms Ahluwalia in Lucknow. We will all be leaving right now, and when we arrive we will rendezvous with the Lucknow police to arrest them. We've finally got them, prepare to move out immediately."

Priya glances over at Huda and sees that all the colour has drained from his face. When he turns to look at her, the despair in his eyes is clear to see.

"Huda…" Priya whispers, and then realisation dawns on her, "You knew didn't you?" Suddenly she remembers the way his behaviour had changed after they had driven through Lucknow on the way back from Benares, his strange smile, how he had never been bothered by any of the other sightings. "You saw them there, didn't you?"

"Priya," That one word is filled by so much desperation that it almost knocks her down, "Priya, help me." Huda is almost begging her, and it kills Priya to see him this way.

"What can I do?" she asks him, "What can anybody do now?"

Right then the order comes to move out, Huda and Priya are set to travel with two other officers in one of the cars. There is absolutely nothing that Huda can do, he is completely and utterly helpless in the hour when his friends need him the most.

As they exit the building, Huda sees Bunty Chaubey standing in the doorway of his office watching them. Suddenly Huda wonders whether his suspicions have been correct, and catches Bunty's eye before he walks past. 'Lucknow' Huda mouths at Chaubey silently, 'Help', and then he is gone, unable to do anything else.

Chaubey understands, as soon as all of the officers on the task force have left, he immediately takes his phone and rings the Ladakh base. He asks for Aalekh, and then waits impatiently, before the familiar voice comes on the line.

"Aalekh, get them out of there." Is all he can say. He's done all he can, it's up to Aalekh now.

/

Hundreds of miles away in Ladakh, Aalekh stands stricken, still with the phone to his ear. Snapping himself out of a temporary panic he immediately dials another number, one that he's learnt by heart. There's no time to head to a PCO to cover his tracks, and Aalekh doesn't care if he gets caught, his friends' safety is the most important thing to him, no matter what.

"Get Anwar for me." He tells the man on the other end of the line and waits impatiently.

"Hello?"

Aalekh gives a sigh of relief when he finally hears Anwar's voice on the other end of the line.

"Anwar, this is very important." Aalekh begins, "I need you to go find Rehan and…" Suddenly the line goes dead and Aalekh curses. He knows that this sort of thing happens in Ladakh often, but does it really have to happen right now? Placing the phone back on the hook he turns to go, intending to ask Yudi if he can borrow his mobile. Suddenly a voice stops him.

"Lieutenant Sharma, stop right there." Aalekh freezes, and turning around, sees his superior officer standing in front of him along with three guards. The next thing that Aalekh notices is that the cord of the telephone has been pulled from the wall.

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant Sharma." His superior announces, sounding as if he truly does regret it, "But we have orders to take you into custody. Please don't make this any harder on yourself."

Aalekh considers his options, escape is impossible, and so is fighting against them. There is nothing he can do, he has failed, and now Naina and Captain Rajveer are unaware of the danger facing them.

Aalekh wants to scream in frustration but instead he allows them to lead him towards the base's cells. As they pass down a corridor, Ali and Yudi come around the corner and see him, their eyes widening in shock. Quickly they run over, only to be warned by the guards to stay back.

"Chief, what's going on?" Yudi asks, "Why are they taking you away?" Ali stares at him, at the look of despair on Aalekh's face, at the anger in his eyes.

"Naina." Is all Aalekh can say before the guards push him to get moving again, taking him away from Ali and Yudi. The two young men freeze where they're standing, they know that something's wrong but they have no idea what it is or what they can do.

"We'll call Huda!" Yudi suddenly suggests, knowing that he will know the most about anything that is happening and they run to Yudi's room to grab his mobile. Dialling the number with shaking hands, Yudi is thankful when it connects.

Not waiting for Huda to say anything, he immediately begins speaking, "Huda, thank god I got a hold of you. They've just taken Aalekh into custody here, what the hell is going on?"

"Yudi," Huda's voice on the other end of the line is completely drained of any emotion. "We're on our way to arrest Naina and Captain Rajveer." Surrounded by fellow officers in the car, he can't say anything else. Hanging up the phone he see Priya watching him, a tense look on her face.

"Aalekh has been arrested." He informs her, and leans his head against the window. Aalekh's arrest means that the information probably hasn't gotten through to Naina and Captain Rajveer. They have no idea that anybody is coming for them.

Nobody can help them now.

/

Raj leaves the apartment late in the evening, heading out to get some groceries while Naina begins preparing dinner. He is just returning from the bazaar with his bag when he hears Anwar call out.

"Rehan!" Anwar calls to him, crossing the street to meet Raj, "I was just coming to see you."

"Really? It's lucky you met me on the way. Is anything wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Anwar replies, "Aalekh called a few hours ago, he said it was important and he had to tell you something but then the call was cut off."

"And he didn't call back?" This aspect especially worries Raj, if Aalekh had wanted to tell them something he would've called back quickly, unless…

"No, I was waiting to see if he would, but I decided I should come and tell you anyway."

"Thanks Anwar," Raj struggles to remain outwardly calm, even as he has begun imagining all of the possibilities. "I'll see you tomorrow at work." He tells Anwar, despite knowing that they will probably never see each other again.

Trying not to appear as if he is hurrying, Raj walks back to the apartment quickly, running up the stairs to their door. Letting himself in with his key, he drops the groceries on the floor where he is standing.

Naina looks up from the vegetables she is cutting and immediately realises that something is wrong.

"Naina, we have to leave." He tells her, breathless from running up the stairs. "Aalekh called with a message for us, but was cut off. He hasn't called back and I just know that something is wrong."

Naina's eyes reflect her worry for Aalekh but she remains calm. Putting down the knife, she quickly puts on her shoes while Raj grabs the bag that they always have packed ready, just for emergencies like these.

In two minutes they are ready to go, and locking the door behind them, they leave. Naina hasn't worn her burqa, covering her hair with her dupatta instead.

Taking her hand, Raj heads in the direction of the bus station. "I don't know how much time we have," he tells her, "We'll get on the first bus that's leaving."

Gripping Raj's hand tightly, Naina follows him through the busy streets. She prays that Aalekh is safe and that he hasn't been exposed. She prays that the situation isn't as bad as they think it is.

Twenty minutes later, the officers from headquarters show up, screeching to a stop outside the apartment building. They swarm into the building, their guns out and at the ready, heading up the stairs and kicking down the door of the apartment to find it empty. Seeing the vegetables abandoned on the chopping board, Colonel Bakshi guesses that the fugitives knew they were coming.

"Alright, we're splitting into three groups!" He yells to all of the officers, "You're going to the bus station, you're going to the train station, and you will continue to search the surrounding area!" He commands, dividing the group roughly into three.

Huda and Priya join the group heading towards the bus station. He is relieved that Naina and Raj are already gone, realising that Aalekh's message must have gotten through after all.

But Huda knows that they haven't been gone long, and he knows that it won't be hard for the officers to find them, especially with all of Lucknow's police force looking too.

The odds are against them.

This time, nothing will save them but a miracle.

/

Raj and Naina are already sitting on a bus to Kolkata when the driver comes on board to make an announcement.

"I'm sorry everybody, but the departure is going to be delayed by half an hour. Apparently there's some type of problem."

Naina glances at Raj, they both know exactly what the problem is. The police are heading towards the bus station, and they want to make sure that nobody gets away before they arrived.

Carefully, calmly, Raj stands up. "Come on Begum, let's go and have some chai while we wait." He announces, and Naina stands too, grabbing their bag. They walk slowly towards the chai stand, not wanting to draw any attention to themselves.

"They're coming for us, Naina." Raj tells her in a low voice, "And I don't know if we can escape this time."

Naina has been thinking the same thing. Is this really the end of the road for them? After everything they've been through, will they finally be defeated?

"Listen to me carefully, Naina," Raj whispers, "Just put on your burqa and leave. They'll never be able to find you. Make sure that the evidence gets to the right people, at least that way you can save yourself."

"Are you crazy?" she whispers back to him, furiously. "I'm not leaving you, I won't leave you!"

"Don't you remember the promise that we made? That if one of us were caught, the other would continue the mission? Continue the mission, Naina!" Raj tells her desperately, "If you're on your own then you've got a chance to get away, I'll stay here and act as a distraction."

"I also remember the other promises we made." Naina replies with tears in her eyes, "I'll never leave you."

Raj stares at her frustrated, he wants her safe, he wants her as far from him as possible so that he knows she won't be in danger. "I wish you didn't love me so much," he tells her, knowing that there is nothing he can do to convince her. Taking her hand, they move through the crowd towards the exit of the bus station.

He has no plan anymore, and no idea of what they should do next. All Raj knows is that they have to avoid being captured. Leaving the bus station, they are just about to cross the road when a car screeches to a stop. Turning around, Raj looks past the windscreen to see Abhimanyu at the wheel.

"They're here." He yells to Naina, "Run!"

Holding her hand tightly, he begins running, pushing past pedestrians and finally onto the road dodging cars.

"Stop!" he can hear Abhimanyu calling out in the distance, "Stop or I'll shoot you!"

Abhimanyu raises his gun and aims, but he can't do it. Even after everything that has happened, he still can't shoot either Raj or Naina. Cursing himself, he begins to run after them.

Huda and Priya's car pulls up behind Abhimanyu's and seeing him running across the road, Huda leaps out of the car even before it has stopped moving, following Captain Abhimanyu. He doesn't know what he is going to do, but he has to do something. He has to make sure that Naina and Captain Rajveer don't end up dying.

Raj and Naina run, he can tell that she is running out of breath, his lungs are burning, and his legs are aching, but still they keep running. Naina glances behind and counts seven officers following them, she can hear Abhimanyu still screaming at them to stop somewhere in the distance but she can't think about anything except running.

Dashing out onto the road, they run past cars heading in the opposite direction, unaware of the vehicle screeching up the street on the other side. It pulls up slightly in front of them, and the door opens, yet more officers stepping out.

It happens so fast and yet it occurs as if in slow motion. The officer steps out of his car and raises his gun. In the distance, Huda runs as if possessed, praying that by some miracle he can arrive on time, screaming "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" as if he believes that someone will actually listen to him. Priya is running hard, trying to keep up with Huda, with Abhimanyu still yelling at them to stop.

Naina turns and sees the officer aiming his gun but Raj is still running and hasn't noticed, completely unaware of the danger. Working out the officer's target even from this distance, Naina screams and pushes Raj out of the way.

The officer fires.

Raj turns in horror to see Naina collapse to the ground, blood pouring out from the wound in her shoulder.

"Naina!" he screams, and bends to help her, as she tries to push him away.

"Run, Raj, just go!" She tells him, even knowing that he will never leave her. He binds her wound with her dupatta and then gathers her in his arms as if trying to shelter her from the world. "This is the end." Naina whispers, and rests her head tiredly against Raj's shoulder. They have both realized that there will be no escape this time.

A few moments later the officer who had fired the shot reaches them, still with his gun raised. "Don't move!" he calls out, waiting for the others to arrive. Slowly one by one, all of the officers stand in a circle around them, their guns aimed at the couple.

All of them that is, except Abhimanyu, Huda and Priya. Abhimanyu has run up quickly, but stands almost as if in shock, staring at the scene. Only one thought passes through his mind, that he never thought that this was how he would feel when it happened.

Huda feels like crying, he refuses to raise his gun on his friends.

"Is this what you recruited me for, Sir?" he asks Abhimanyu angrily, "So that you could get your best friend's sister shot? So that you could make sure that the lies triumphed over the truth?" After months, Naina and Captain Rajveer are finally in front of him, and Huda wishes that they was anywhere but here.

Raj and Naina still haven't moved, they don't even look up, as if it is unimportant that there is a circle of people standing around them with guns.

Priya stares at them in shock, she hadn't imagined that it would be like this. All of these months she had a picture of them in her mind, but it wasn't this. She stares at them, seeing the way that Raj is trying to protect Naina by shielding her with his body, even when they've already lost. She tries to raise her gun and fails, her hands shaking far too much.

Finally, Colonel Bakshi's car pulls up and he steps out to join them. In the distance, a crowd has gathered to watch.

"Excellent, everybody," he tells the team from headquarters, "Finally after all these months our mission is accomplished. Arrest them both and take them in for questioning."

"Sir," Abhimanyu interrupts, "Ms Ahluwalia is injured and I believe she needs medical attention, it would be best if she was taken to a hospital."

"So much concern for a traitor?" Colonel Bakshi asks cynically.

"Sir, if she dies then she won't be able to tell us much." Abhimanyu replies without any emotion.

"Fine, take her to a hospital then. Lieutenants Huda and Kapoor, you're in charge of her security. Make sure she's watched around the clock. Captain Abhimanyu, bring Captain Rajveer into Lucknow Police Station, we'll transfer him to Delhi in the morning."

Various officers step forward to pull Raj and Naina apart, but Raj resists, refusing to let her go. Finally Huda crouches down to their eye level.

"I'll take her to the hospital, Sir." He tells Raj, "Trust me, I won't let anything happen to her."

Raj's eyes are filled with defeat and despair, but he nods anyway. "Keep her safe for me." He whispers, and then letting go of Naina, he allows himself to be led away.

"Raj!" Naina screams, "Where are you taking him? Where are you taking him?" and struggles to follow him. Fearing for her safety, Huda grabs hold of her to restrain her. Still struggling against him, Naina tries to break free, her arms flailing. It is then that Huda feels her hand brush against one of his pockets, and it suddenly becomes heavier.

Suddenly Naina becomes quiet and allows herself to be led away, glancing back over her shoulder for one last look at Raj as he is shoved roughly into one of the police vans. They lock eyes, and she tries to memorise his image, not knowing how long it will be before they see each other again.

Halfway to the hospital, Naina faints from blood loss. Priya applies pressure to her wound as Huda drives, hoping that it is not already too late. Pulling up the car in the hospital driveway, Huda lifts Naina out, carrying her to a stretcher, while shouting orders for the doctors to come and help. They wheel her away and Huda collapses into a chair, barely able to cope after the events of the past few hours. Understanding that he needs some time, Priya begins to fill out the forms.

Huda doesn't check his pocket until Naina has been taken to the operation theatre. Then he makes an excuse that he needs to use the bathroom and pulls out the object once he is safely inside one of the stalls.

It's a small key.

Huda has no idea what it opens, but for the first time all day he begins to feel some hope.

It could just be the key to his friends' salvation.

/

Huda is sitting on a chair outside Naina's room with his head leaning back against the wall when Priya returns. He had noticed her leave a few minutes ago, but was too exhausted to ask where she was going. She hands him a styrofoam cup filled with coffee, obviously from the hospital's canteen.

"Here," she tells him, "It's got sugar in it. I thought you might need one."

The old Huda would have made some comment at this point about her being so sweet that he didn't need any sugar. The Huda that has just seen one of his best friends shot before his eyes can't be bothered.

"Huda, talk to me." Priya asks, almost pleadingly, "I know today hasn't been easy for you, but you must have known it would come to this eventually. You couldn't have believed that they would never be caught." She sounds like she is trying to convince herself of this as well as him.

"She was shot right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to stop it." Huda tells Priya, numbly. "Did you see it? Did you see the way she pushed Rajveer Sir out of the way? Did you see the way she took the bullet without a second thought?" he shakes his head sadly, "Naina was always brave, but I never knew that she was that brave."

For hours now, Priya has been trying to clear the images from her mind. Naina falling to the ground as if in slow motion, the way Raj had wrapped his arms around her as if to shield her. She wants to cry and she is not even sure why. She doesn't know these people, she never even met them before today. But somehow, she feels as if their defeat is her defeat too.

Priya thinks about the past months she's spent with Huda. Could it be that his unshakable belief in their innocence and trust in them has affected her too? All of the stories that Pooja told her about their academy days, all of the comments made by Huda's friends in Ladakh. Have all of these affected her so much that she is more willing to believe them than what the high officials in headquarters tell her?

"She really does love him." Priya says, almost as if talking to herself. "She was willing to die for him."

Huda nods, he doesn't need to say anything else. That is the one truth that he has learned, that both Raj and Naina would do anything for the other, even die.

Huda tries to drink the coffee, but can't get it down his throat.

"Don't worry, she'll be fine." Priya tells him, "The doctors were saying that she should wake up any minute now."

"I know she'll recover," Huda replies, "But really, what's the point? After this she'll either be sent to prison or executed."

"We always knew that would happen." Priya whispers, trying to ignore the fact that today is the first time she's ever felt any sadness about it.

"There may still be a way…" Huda begins to say and then stops, not sure whether he should say anything else.

"You're not thinking of letting her escape from the hospital are you?" Priya asks him seriously. If Huda takes such an action then it will be him in trouble, and she doesn't think she can cope with that.

"No, she wouldn't go anyway. Not with Rajveer Sir in prison." Huda replies, Priya is about to ask him what he was talking about if he isn't thinking about letting her escape when a nurse comes out of Naina's room.

"Ms Ahluwalia has regained consciousness." She announces to them, "You can speak to her, but please don't interrogate her too much, she's still very weak."

Huda steps forward eagerly, and then notices that Priya hasn't moved from where she is standing. She nods at him as if to tell him to go ahead, knowing that he will need some time alone with Naina.

Huda enters the room to see Naina lying against the pillow, her left wrist handcuffed to the bed's railing. She looks small and pale against the white bed sheets.

He really wants to hug her and tell her he's missed her, tell her that he never wanted it to happen this way, and that he has been praying for her and Captain Rajveer to succeed. "It's been a long time, Naina."

Naina smiles at him weakly, trying to sit up but failing. Leaning forward, Huda rearranges the pillows to help her. Naina tries to speak, tries to casually joke with Huda but she can't.

"I'm so sorry, Huda. I'm so sorry for everything." She tells him, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I have so much to explain to you, and I don't even know where to begin."

"You don't need to explain anything, Naina." Huda replies, reaching out to hold her hand. "I understood a long time ago. It took me awhile, but I finally grew up."

"You're right," Naina tells him, looking at him with sudden recognition, "You really have changed since the last time I saw you." She sees that he now sits differently, acts differently. He has become a confident young man instead of an over confident brat.

Huda smiles, "I've got you to thank for that Naina, well you and Aalekh, and Priya, and various other people too, but mostly you."

"Huda, I'm so sorry…" Naina repeats once again, "I want to tell you that…"

Huda interrupts her before she can say anything else, "Naina, it never would've worked out between us. We both know that. We would've been miserable together, we would've fought every day."

"That doesn't excuse what I did to you." Naina tells him, beginning to cry again, "I don't know if you'll forgive me or not, but please believe me when I tell you that I never thought it would turn out like this when I agreed to get engaged."

"I forgave you for everything months ago," Suddenly he spots the new ring on her finger, shining brightly against her pale skin. "That one suits you much better." He tells her, nodding at her hand.

Naina stares at the ring on her hand, and her face fills with despair. "Raj…" she whispers, "Where is he?"

"By now they've probably already transferred him to Delhi." Huda tells her gently, "If the hospital agrees to discharge you tomorrow then you'll be transferred to a secure wing there too."

Naina nods, trying to control her emotions. She is in pain, but at least for the moment she is here in the hospital. She doesn't want to think about what might be happening to Raj, she wishes she could see him, touch him, but she knows that is a far off possibility.

"And Aalekh?" she asks, "Don't lie to me Huda, I know that something has happened."

"Aalekh was arrested," Huda admits, "I haven't heard anything since then."

"It wasn't meant to be this way…" Naina whispers, "And now Aalekh too…"

Huda suddenly realises something, "I can't believe I haven't called Pooja yet." He tells Naina, "She has no idea that any of this has happened."

"Can you call her now?" Naina asks, "Tell her that I said hi."

"I'll call her now," Huda reassures Naina, "But I'll have to go outside for that and…" he doesn't want to leave her alone, and he glances towards the doorway, seeing that Priya is still standing a short distance away. "I'll get Priya to sit with you while I'm gone."

"Is she the one?" Naina asks.

"What one?"

"Aalekh said that you had found someone else."

Huda smiles, "Maybe. Nothing is settled yet, she doesn't even know that I like her. You would like her too, I know you would."

"Then hurry up and introduce us." Naina tells him, happy that at least somebody's life seems to be working out.

"I will," Huda replies, "But I don't know when we'll get the chance to talk alone again. Naina what's this key? What does it open?"

"It's for a locker in Delhi. There are copies of all the evidence in there. It's possible that it may still save us." She tells him the location quickly, quietly.

"If you had the evidence all along then why haven't you used it? You could've ended this months ago."

"We never had evidence against the boss." Naina admits tiredly. "Without that, we were unwilling to give up our chances of nailing him."

"And who is the boss?" Huda asks, anxious to hear the answer. Who was it that had caused them all this misery, and ruined so many lives?

"Gehlot." Naina whispers and Huda freezes. Such a huge betrayal, so many lies… He wonders how Captain Rajveer had felt when he found out.

Huda stands up, wanting to move, wanting to clear his head. This has all happened too fast, it's too much to take in.

"I'll go and call Pooja," he announces, and then leaning outside of the room he calls Priya over. "Could you sit with Naina? I need to call Pooja and tell her what's happened."

Priya nods hesitantly, and then heads inside, taking the seat that Huda has just vacated.

Naina is watching Priya thoughtfully as if she is examining her, the effect slightly unnerving.

"You're not how I imagined you would be." Priya tells Naina, wanting to break the silence.

"No," Naina responds, "I can guess how you would've imagined me."

Priya stays silent, waiting for Naina to continue.

"A traitor, right? A bad person. Somebody who would betray their country. A girl who left her fiancé and ran away with another man. All of these things." Naina sighs, she is tired, and having trouble feeling any emotion right now other than despair.

"Yes," Priya admits, "That is how I'd thought of you at first. I didn't know how Huda could still be so loyal to both you and Captain Rajveer after what you'd done to him. Now, I think I'm beginning to understand."

She stares at Naina, trying to compare her with the girl in Pooja's photos, the girl who was laughing and smiling. Priya had expected to hate Naina, thinking of her as a selfish girl who hadn't cared for Huda's feelings at all.

"I'm glad that Huda has such a good partner." Naina tells Priya, "He really trusts you. He's going to need your support now, no matter what it is that happens."

"What do you think is going to happen?"

"What can happen?" Naina asks, "We'll both be court martialed, Raj for the second time. And after that… The only thing that can save us now is if the truth comes out."

"What is the truth?" Priya wants to know. She is so sick of wondering, sick of not knowing.

"The truth is that no matter what, the rich and powerful always win. The truth is that the patriots get framed and the traitors get away." Naina tells her, "The truth is that we were always fighting for the good of the country."

Sitting here with Naina and hearing her speak, Priya begins to believe her. For the first time she is ready to admit that the officials at headquarters might have lied to her.

Huda and Pooja were right, she could only understand once she met them.

/

Huda walks outside the hospital to call Pooja, wanting some measure of privacy. He rings on her mobile, knowing that no matter how late it is, she will want to know what happened.

Seeing Huda's number come up on her mobile screen, Pooja immediately answers.

"Huda, thank god, I've been waiting for you to call." She begins, without letting him get a word in, "Ali called and told me that Aalekh had been arrested and you were on your way to arrest Naina and Rajveer Sir. Huda please, tell me what's going on?"

For the last few hours she has been frantic, unable to sit calmly or concentrate on anything.

Huda's voice on the other end of the line sounds tired, distant. "Pooja… Naina said to say hi to you." He doesn't need to say anything else.

"No…" Pooja whispers, she had been praying all afternoon that they wouldn't be caught, that there would be a miracle and they would escape. "Is she… is she fine? And Rajveer Sir?"

"Naina was shot when they tried to escape, but she's just woken up after surgery. Captain Rajveer has already been transferred to Delhi. Priya and I will probably be returning in the morning with Naina."

Pooja wants to cry, she wants to scream, but she knows she has to remain calm for their sakes. "Huda, you tell our Naina, just tell her that I'm with her. That we're all with her. Tell her that we'll figure this out somehow, we'll save them." Pooja wants to believe her own words, she wants to believe that everything can be fixed.

"I'll do that Pooja, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

"I'll call Ali and let him know.".

Pooja calls Yudi's cell phone number, knowing that he will probably be with Ali right now.

Seeing Pooja's number on the screen, Yudi immediately passes the phone to Ali. "It will be for you." After dinner, they'd been sitting together in their room, too tense to do anything else.

"Pooja?"

"Ali," Pooja sounds like she is trying hard not to cry on the other end of the line, "It's all over, they've arrested Captain Rajveer and Naina. Naina was shot, but Huda says she'll recover."

"Hai Allah," is all that Ali can say, "How could this happen? Why is it happening?"

"I don't know, Ali, all I know is that all we can do now is pray. Nothing is in our hands anymore."

"You stay brave, Pooja." Ali tells her, "We have to believe that everything will work out. Remember what Captain Rajveer always used to tell us, while there's breath left, there's still hope."

Pooja isn't sure why, but those words make her feel instantly better. She won't give up hope yet.

"I love you Ali," she tells him, "I'll call you tomorrow with more news."

"I love you too, Pooja. Try to get some sleep tonight."

Yudi has been watching Ali with growing fear, knowing from the conversation that something bad has happened.

"Naina and Captain Rajveer have been arrested." Ali tells Yudi, "Naina was shot but she'll be okay."

Yudi swears, "How can this be happening, bro? I thought that the good guys were meant to win and the bad guys were meant to lose."

"Life isn't a film." Ali reminds Yudi, "And right now we have to go and break this news to Aalekh."

Neither of them want to do it, they know how Aalekh is going to react.

Aalekh looks up when he sees them outside the bars and his face clearly says that he knows they have news for him.

"Aalekhbhai, they've been caught and Naina has been shot, but she's recovering." Ali tells him in one breath, not wanting to draw it out for longer.

Aalekh screams and punches his fist into the wall, drawing the attention of the guard who jumps up quickly.

"Chief, calm down! We'll find a way, Huda will find a way. It's not over yet." Yudi promises Aalekh, sounding surer than he feels.

"If anything happens to Naina, then I'll kill all of those bastards." Aalekh promises, "I don't care about any proof anymore, they're all going to die by my hands."

Neither Ali nor Yudi doubt that he means it.

/

In Lucknow, Huda makes one more phone call, one that he has been dreading making. The phone rings a few times before it is picked up, it's quite late at night and he is worried that they would've been in bed.

"Hello?"

"Hello Uncleji, it's me, Huda."

There is silence and then the voice on the other end of the line becomes worried, "Huda beta, is there anything wrong? So late at night?"

"Uncleji…" Huda doesn't know how to say it, but Naina's parents deserved to know. "Naina has been arrested, she was shot but she's in the hospital now and she'll be okay."

The silence is so long, that Huda is afraid Naina's father isn't there anymore. "Uncleji….?"

"Then everything is over," Naina's father says, his voice sounding tired and old. "Now another court martial and…" He doesn't want to lose another child, he doesn't want to go through this all over again.

"Don't worry Uncleji, nothing is over yet. We'll save Naina somehow." Huda promises him, "Alright, I'll go now, I need to go check on Naina."

"Tell her that we love her," Naina's father says, "We'll try to get permission to come and see her."

Naina is asleep by the time Huda returns to the room, Priya sitting next to her, tears in her eyes.

"Priya, let's go outside and sit." Huda lays a gentle hand on her shoulder, "I think it's time that I explained everything to you properly."

Priya nods and follows him outside. She knows that it is time she learned the truth.

/

In Ladakh, Ali and Yudi sit outside Aalekh's cell, not wanting to leave him alone in case he does something foolish.

"I swear," Aalekh suddenly announces, "That if this all works out, I'll give up drinking."

"Naina would be happy to hear that…" Yudi comments, "If there was a way to rescue them both, then I would do it. No matter what the consequences were."

"There's nothing we can do right now, Yudibhai. It's all in Allah's hands." Ali says, and abruptly stands up.

"Where are you going?" Yudi asks.

"I'm going to go and pray," Ali tells him, "There's nothing else I can do for them right now."

Aalekh nods, he knows how Ali feels, they are all desperate to feel like they are doing something to help. "Do some for me too," he says, "I wouldn't know how."

None of the friends sleep that night, Huda remains awake, explaining everything to Priya. Pooja remains awake, heading to the Gurudwara where she sits to listen, hoping that her prayers might be heard. Yudi and Aalekh remain awake, sitting together silently, neither one able to find anything to say. Ali prays again and again until dawn, never stopping.

All of them want the same thing, that they be shown the path they should take. That they somehow figure out a plan to save Naina and Raj.

It isn't until dawn that Huda finally sees a glimmer of hope. From somewhere within his mind, the beginnings of a plan have begun to unfold.

It is a weak plan at best, but a plan nonetheless. However one thing is certain, he will need two key allies for it. One is sitting beside him, but the other one… Huda knows what he needs to do and who he needs to ask. He knows this plan could easily fail but he has no other choice right now.

Today, he will take the first steps.

Huda remembers the words that Ali had told Pooja earlier, 'While there is still breath remaining, hope remains.'

Huda smiles.

There is one last hope left.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

"So my old friend, we meet again." Raj greets his visitor tiredly, leaning back in his chair, almost all of his strength gone. The room is cold, and Raj is already chilled to the bone. He is exhausted and worried about Naina, nobody has given him any news about her yet. He trusts Huda to look after her, but he won't be able to relax until he knows she is out of danger.

Raj's visitor sits down on the seat opposite, examining his friend with a look that is almost… regretful.

"What's wrong, Chauhan Saheb?" Raj asks, "You're upset that I got caught, or that I wasn't the one that was shot?"

Abhimanyu's expression changes, "Raj, you know that I never wanted any of this to happen. I was given a duty, and I carried it out. What happened wasn't my fault."

"Forget all that," Raj tells him, "Is there any news about Naina? Is she alright?"

Abhimanyu nods, "I received a call from one of the officers half an hour ago, Naina is now conscious and recovering from surgery."

"Thank god…" Raj whispers, a tear falling from his eye which he hastily wipes away. "If anything had happened to her…"

"Then what? Are you really surprised, Raj? Weren't you the one who got her into this mess in the first place?"

Raj glares at Abhimanyu angrily, "Do you want to know the truth, Abhi? The truth is that you're the one who got her into this mess. If you hadn't been spying on us for headquarters then she would've got the box like she was meant to and none of this would've happened."

Abhimanyu is shocked by Raj's accusations, this isn't his fault. It isn't. All he'd done was be a good soldier, following orders. It isn't because of him that Navin's little sister was injured, it isn't…

"You hid the evidence for her to find before we arrested you, didn't you?" Abhimanyu asks, wanting to know for sure what he has suspected all along.

"Yes," Raj admits, "She was meant to find it and then get it to the right people. I thought she might even be able to make a plan to trap the boss but it didn't work out that way."

"Who is the boss?" Abhi asks, wanting to know the answer.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Raj says, "And I'm certainly not going to say it here."

Then he becomes serious, "Abhi, I don't know if I can get out of this alive. Promise me something, try to save Naina. No matter what it takes, if you can arrange a deal for me then I'll confess to everything… but she should be safe."

"You would do that much for her…" Abhimanyu says thoughtfully, finally beginning to make a realisation. He has to know, he has to find out for sure, and so he asks. "Raj, why did Naina do all this? Why did she sacrifice everything she had worked so hard for? She became best cadet, and then… condemned herself as a traitor by rescuing you."

"Because she loves me." Raj replies simply, "She shouldn't, but she does."

Abhimanyu's head spins with this information. He has always suspected that Raj might have feelings for Naina, but had never known the truth.

"And you?" he asks Raj.

"More than anything," Raj tells him with such pure sincerity in his voice that it hurts Abhi to hear it, "More than my life."

Looking at the expression on Abhimanyu's face, Raj smiles. It is not a happy smile, as if at his own bad luck. "What, Chauhan Saheb? This information has changed your opinion? You're feeling bad about separating two lovers?"

"You both did all of this because you loved each other," Abhi starts to see the humour in the situation, "You sacrificed your freedom because you loved her, and she sacrificed her reputation and career because she loved you." He laughs slightly, "I don't think I've ever met anybody more self-sacrificing than you two."

Raj shrugs, even he has to admit it is quite melodramatic.

Abhimanyu notices the ring on Raj's finger and it shakes him once again. "Are you and Naina…?"

"We got engaged." Raj tells him, "There was nothing to stop us anymore."

Abhimanyu stares at his friend, trying to find any trace of regret or fear on Raj's face. Instead his old friend is calm, not bothered in the least by being back in jail.

"I always thought that you were wrong," Abhimanyu tells him, "I thought that you were betraying your duty, just trying to make up for your own guilt in killing Navin. To be honest, I was happy when you were caught, I thought that it was time you faced justice, if not for betraying Navin then at least for this crime."

Raj laughs bitterly, "When there was no justice in Navin's case then why would there be any for me? Don't be so naïve, Chauhan Saheb. And as for me betraying Navin, I've never done that. Maybe you should think of your own actions before you start accusing me."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"When we were so close to proving Navin innocent, you were the one that stopped us from doing so." Raj tells him, "If anyone has betrayed Navin then it's you."

"I only did my duty," Abhimanyu protests, wanting to defend his actions. "Duty was important to Navin too, he would've understood."

"Navin's first duty was always to the truth, otherwise he'd still be alive today."

Suddenly Abhimanyu realises that he has no more arguments, no more justifications for his actions.

His last remaining friend sits in front of him, once again imprisoned. His dead friend's sister is lying in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound. Could all this really have been avoided if he'd chosen to side with them rather than headquarters? Was his belief in the justice of the system really so naïve?

Raj sees the emotions passing over Abhimanyu's face and guesses what he is thinking.

"It's never too late, Abhi." Raj tells him gently, "You can still choose to side with the truth."

"Raj, I…"

"Just do what I say, Abhi. Arrange a deal for me, I'll do whatever they want, but Naina should be set free."

Abhimanyu just stares at him, he wants to reach out, grab Raj's hand. He wants to hug his friend and tell him he is sorry. He wants to take it all back and start again.

"But Raj, you…"

"My life isn't important, Abhi. Naina's is. Save her for me, save her for Navin."

Abhimanyu stares at his friend in horror, knowing that Raj has already given up any hope of saving his own life.

"Will you ever forgive me?" Abhimanyu asks.

"You know I already have." Raj tells him, "But I'm warning you, Naina might be a little more difficult." He smiles, but there are tears in his eyes threatening to spill out, "I love her so much, Abhi. Don't let anything happen to her, I'll die happily if I know she's safe."

"I promise you, Raj. I'll do whatever I can."

His time up, Abhimanyu makes his way out, but the chill doesn't leave him even when he arrives home, standing under a hot shower.

Will he be able to do it? Will he be able to fight for the truth?

Abhimanyu prays that there was a way to make it all right again, to make up for his mistakes.

/

The hospital protests moving her so soon, but in the morning Naina is transferred to Delhi by ambulance. A doctor travels with her in the back, as do Huda and Priya. Naina looks better today but she has been sedated for the journey on Colonel Bakshi's orders.

She seems to be asleep, only occasionally murmuring a word. Most of the time, that word is 'Raj'.

Huda stays silent throughout the ride, the key heavy in his pocket. Priya thinks that he is silent due to worry for Naina, but in reality Huda is busy planning. There are only a few things missing now that he still has to figure out, everything else has fallen into place.

They arrive in Delhi in the early afternoon, and after Huda sees that Naina has been safely transferred to her ward, he and Priya leave her there. He knows that he should be getting some sleep, but there are several things he needs to do before that. The first is seeing Pooja. It is a Sunday and Pooja has sent him an sms that she will be waiting for them at the hostel.

They take a taxi to the hostel, Huda is so tired that he doesn't trust himself to drive without an accident. When they arrive he sees that Pooja is already sitting on the front steps, waiting for them. If he knows Pooja well, then he guesses that she has probably been sitting there for hours now.

As soon as Pooja sees them, she runs forward and throws her arms around Huda, beginning to sob. All of this time she has had nobody to comfort her, nobody to talk to. Huda pats Pooja's head gently, knowing that she needs to let her fear and grief out.

"Ali and Yudi wanted to come, but they can't leave Aalekh there alone." Pooja finally tells him, "And Naina… can I see her?"

"I don't know," Huda replies, "They might not let anybody in to see her."

Letting go of Huda, Pooja hugs Priya instead, still crying. "It's okay," Priya tells Pooja, "It will all work out somehow."

Huda is amazed at Priya's words, he begins to think that maybe this is going to be easier than he had thought. Looking at Pooja crying, Huda suddenly remembers something. He can't believe that he hadn't thought of it until now. Pooja has the skills that Huda needs, she will also have to take part in his plan.

"If this is going to work out the way it should, then I need both of your help." He tells them quietly.

Pooja stops crying and starts paying attention. She knows that tone of voice, and she knows it means that Huda has a plan. "Tell us. This Punjaben is with you, no matter what you need her to do. If it saves our friends, I'll do anything."

"Excellent," Huda replies, "But not here, we need to go somewhere more private where we can't be overheard."

They head to a nearby park, sitting in a secluded spot away from anybody that might want to listen to their conversation.

When Huda has finished outlining his plan, Pooja nods once, signalling that she is ready to do as he has asked.

Priya stares at him with an expression on her face which is half amazement and half fear.

"Huda… I don't know, I don't know if I can do this. If I get caught?" She hasn't mentioned what it is that has caused her so much amazement, she can't believe that Huda trusts her this much.

"Priya," Huda begins, taking both of her hands with his. "I can't force you to do this, there are risks. But you're the only one of us who can accomplish this. You're the only one who won't be under suspicion."

Priya thinks about all the possible outcomes, but the image that comes to her mind again is of Raj and Naina huddled together on the road. All she can think about is Naina telling her how much Huda trusts her, and that he is going to need her support.

Her voice trembling, Priya finally speaks. "I'll do it."

Smiling, relief visible on his face, Huda holds out the key and Priya takes it quickly, putting it into her bag. There is no going back now.

"Excellent," Huda tells them, "Then you both know what you have to do and when you have to do it."

They both nod.

Huda gets up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Priya asks, worried that he has kept some dangerous task for himself.

"To put the final piece of the plan into place."

Checking to make sure he is not being followed, he makes his way to an apartment he has never been to before. Knocking on the door, he waits until it is opened.

There is no surprise evident on Abhimanyu's face when he sees Huda.

"I had suspected that you might come to see me." Abhimanyu says. "Tell me what it is that you want." It looks to Huda like he has been crying.

"I'd prefer you to let me in first, Sir." Huda tells him, and Abhimanyu steps back to let him inside.

"We transferred Naina to the hospital here." Huda informs him, "She's looking much better."

"I just came from seeing Raj. He was…" Abhimanyu can't finish speaking, but Huda understands. He realises that all of his work has already been done for him.

"What if there's a way to make it right again?" he asks Abhimanyu, "What if you could undo all of the mistakes?"

Abhimanyu looks up at him with surprise, and also with a trace of hope in his eyes.

"Tell me." He commands.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

_Two hours later…_

Checking to see that nobody is following her, Priya approaches one locker among a long row. Nobody would ever guess that this was where evidence against some of the highest officials in the Indian government and military was hidden. Quickly, Priya pulls the plastic folder out and stuffs it inside her backpack before anybody can see.

Part one of her role is now over, part two still remains.

On the other side of town, Abhimanyu dials a familiar number. It rings twice before the person on the other end picks up.

"Sir, it's Abhimanyu. I visited Raj this afternoon. He wants to make a deal."

Hearing the reply, Abhimanyu smiles.

He hopes that he can do what Huda had said.

He will make everything right again. He will fix all of the mistakes.

/

By five am the next morning, everything is ready. Pooja and Priya are both in position and ready to go, and Abhimanyu is on his way to his position.

There is nothing more that Huda can do, his part in this plan is finished and now he has to let the others do their jobs.

Walking into the hospital, he enters Naina's room and sits beside her, watching her as she sleeps. Awakened by the sound of his footsteps, Naina opens her eyes.

"Huda, what are you doing here?" she asks him sleepily.

"I felt like coming to see you." He replies, "I needed to sit with somebody for awhile."

Naina looks at him, at the tenseness in his posture, the way he keeps glancing at his watch and can't sit still.

"Something's going on, isn't it?" she asks.

Huda doesn't want to say anything to her yet, he doesn't want to get her hopes up in case the plan doesn't work.

"Let's just wait and see," he tells her, Naina is still too drowsy from all the pain medication they've given her to argue.

/

At 5:20am, Abhimanyu is in position and clutching the folder he had been given. He knows that everything depends on him now, if he makes even one mistake then their chance will be gone. Five minutes later he hears the rumble of an engine as a car approaches, and soon a black limousine pulled up.

Exiting the car, Gehlot walks to meet Abhimanyu, taking his own time.

"Good morning, Sir." Abhimanyu tells him politely.

"It had better be," Gehlot replies sarcastically, "I don't like getting up at this time. You said that Raj wanted to make a deal."

"Yes Sir, I went to see him in jail yesterday. He's willing to confess to everything."

"On what condition?" Gehlot asks suspiciously.

"Naina Singh Ahluwalia should be pardoned and set free."

"He always was an emotional fool," Gehlot says mockingly, "Too obsessed with things like justice, and fairness and the truth. He's fallen for the girl, hasn't he?"

"I believe so, Sir." Abhimanyu answers, keeping any trace of emotion out of his voice.

"Well, I suppose I can make a deal with him. But I'll want the evidence too, I've been searching for it for almost five long years and I won't be able to relax until it's finally in my hands."

"Why is it so important?" Abhimanyu asks, "Does the evidence actually implicate you for anything?"

"No, at least I don't think so. But Navin Singh Ahluwalia was able to collect evidence against many of my colleagues, and I don't know who might say what while under pressure. They might be willing to speak about how I was involved, after all, they could get themselves a good deal with the judge for revealing who the boss was."

"Well Sir, you've got nothing to worry about anymore," Abhimanyu tells him, "I have the evidence right here."

Gehlot stares at him in astonishment. "How did you manage to get it and when?"

"Ms Ahluwalia told Lieutenant Huda where the evidence was, and trusting his partner Lieutenant Kapoor, he sent her to get it. Of course what Huda didn't realise is that his partner has been working for me the whole time. She handed the evidence straight to me." Abhimanyu places just the right amount of scorn in his voice, "The stupid fool never realised she was betraying him, he always did have a weakness for pretty faces."

"Excellent job, Abhimanyu." Gehlot tells him, "Now hand it over to me."

Abhimanyu hands over the file and Gehlot looks through it quickly, satisfied that it is the real thing he quickly shuts it. "And what do you want in return for this?" he asks, "A promotion?" 

"That would be a good start, Sir. But what I really want is to be included in your deals. I don't intend to stay an army officer all of my life."

"That's the right attitude!" Gehlot replies, "If Raj and Navin had been more like you, then they could've had happy and rich lives. You have no idea how much money foreign governments and terrorist organisations will pay for our country's secrets, it's a profitable business."

"I'm looking forward to being involved with you, Sir."

"I'll let you know when there's a new deal," Gehlot tells him, "There will be an agent from the Chinese government meeting me soon, I'll inform you when it's confirmed."

"Thank you, Sir, I appreciate it." Abhimanyu replies and Gehlot turns to leave. "One more thing, Sir. What about the deal that Raj wanted?"

"I've got the evidence now, let them both die." Gehlot says and climbs back into the car, leaving quickly.

Abhimanyu stares after him in disgust, then quickly pulls out his mobile phone, and inserts a sim card he only bought the night before. "Did you get all that, Pooja?" he asks, pulling the camera/microphone off his jacket.

"Loud and clear." Pooja replies.

/

It doesn't take long for her to make dvd copies of Gehlot and Abhimanyu's conversation, and as soon as it is done, Pooja and Priya divide the copies among themselves and head off, hugging each other quickly for luck. They will take copies to every television station in the city. Delhi might only now be waking up, but when it does, it will be to the most sensational news ever.

/

Two hours later, Gehlot enters the ministry, intending to get to work early. The file is in his hand, he will have it destroyed today. He is so happy about finally having the evidence in his hands, that he doesn't notice the strange looks that people are giving him.

It is only when he exits the elevator on the floor of his office, that he hears his own voice coming out of the television in the foyer.

"…You have no idea how much money foreign governments and terrorist organisations will pay for our country's secrets, it's a profitable business."

Gehlot turns towards the television in shock, and stares at the screen. There is his face, unmistakably. Swearing badly and knowing that Abhimanyu has betrayed him, he turns to leave, knowing that he has to get out of the country as soon as possible.

However his path is blocked by several officers, one of whom pulls the file out of his hand before he can protest. "Minister Gehlot, you are being arrested for treason."

As Gehlot is led out of the building, the press surges forward, a hundred cameras going off and everybody shouting their questions. There is so much chaos that he doesn't notice Abhimanyu leaning against a nearby pillar, grinning.

As soon as Gehlot has been taken away, Abhimanyu pulls out his mobile again and dials Huda's number. It's time to share the news.

/

When Huda hangs up the phone, he has a grin on his face and Naina knows that something good has happened. She hopes that they have managed to somehow solve this mess. Huda is just about to tell her the news when Pooja and Priya burst into the room excitedly.

As soon as she enters the room, Pooja forgets what it is that she is so excited about and runs straight to Naina's side. Huda barely gets out of the way in time as Pooja throws her arms around her friend, crying tears of joy.

"Oh Naina, I've missed you so much!" she exclaims, "When you went out of network, I was afraid that our connection was lost forever!"

Naina hugs Pooja with her good arm, unable to express how happy she is to see her friend again after such a long time.

"You don't know how much I've missed you, Pooja." Naina replies tearfully, "I'm so glad they've let you come and see me. Tell me, how's Ali? And Yudi? Is there any news about Aalekh?"

"They're all fine," Pooja gushes, "All the missed calls will be with us very soon."

"But how?" Naina asks, "Aalekh is…"

"Not for long now!" Pooja interrupts Naina, "Abhimanyu Sir is already working on getting his calls reconnected."

Naina stares at Pooja in amazement and confusion, not daring to hope that what she has suspected has actually happened. "Abhimanyu Sir… but I thought he…"

Priya interrupts her, "Huda could you please hurry up and explain everything to Naina. Otherwise I'm afraid she's going to end up back in the intensive care unit due to all the stress."

Pulling up another chair since Pooja has taken his, Huda begins to explain the plan and the outcome to Naina, letting her know step by step what they'd done and how they'd achieved it. How Priya had gotten the evidence from the locker and handed it over to Abhimanyu, how Pooja had used the expertise gained from her communications and technology course to set up the equipment they'd need and how Abhimanyu had tricked Gehlot into thinking he was on his side in order to get a confession. Then how Pooja and Priya had made sure that a copy reached every TV station.

When he is finished, Naina is speechless. "I can't believe you managed to accomplish so much in just two days."

"It was all due to Huda's great plan." Priya tells her with a smile, wanting to give him most of the credit.

"I don't know how to thank you all," Naina tells them tearfully, "If it wasn't for you then we would be…"

"Don't you dare say it, Naina." Pooja warns her, "While your friends are alive, we would never allow anything to happen to you or Rajveer Sir."

"Then will Raj be released soon?" Naina asks hopefully, barely able to hold back her happiness at the thought of seeing him again.

"I don't know, Naina." Huda replies truthfully, "When Captain Abhimanyu arrives, he'll be able to tell us."

Thirty minutes later, while Huda, Priya and Pooja are catching Naina up on everything she has missed while she was away, there is a knock at the door.

Abhimanyu stands there, hesitating to come inside and not sure whether Naina will want to see him or not. He still remembers the last confrontation they had at the academy. It was the last time they had ever spoken.

"Come in, Sir." Naina tells him simply, and to his relief there is no anger in her voice. Huda gets up from his seat so that Abhimanyu can sit down.

"Thank you," Naina tells him, "For everything you've done for us. I know the plan couldn't have worked if you hadn't helped."

"What else could I do, Naina?" Abhimanyu asks emotionally, "I had to make up for my mistakes somehow."

"And you have made up for them." Naina tells him, letting Abhimanyu know that she has forgiven him for what he had done in the past.

Abhimanyu feels a wave of relief wash over him, and a burden taken off his chest. He hadn't even realised he was holding his breath until he releases it.

"Sir, Huda said that you would know what was happening with Raj and Aalekh, will they be released soon?"

Abhimanyu sighs, wishing that he had better news. "Unfortunately the charges against the three of you are so serious that they can't just be dropped. There'll be a hearing in three days time where you'll be able to present arguments in your defence. Aalekh, Yudi and Ali will be leaving Ladakh soon so that they can attend."

Naina nods, after everything they've been through, a simple hearing seems like a small thing to overcome.

And most importantly, after three days she will see Raj and the rest of her friends again. In three days time, all of this might be over. In three days time her mission will finally be complete.

/

Aalekh looks up in surprise as the guard opens his cell and gestures for him to come out.

"What's going on?" he asks.

"You're being transferred to Delhi." The guard replies, and Aalekh begins to fear the worst. However hope returns when he sees Ali and Yudi standing outside the cell block with huge smiles on their faces, both with a bag packed.

"Bole to… what's going on?" Aalekh asks them.

"Aalekhbhai, if you want to have a last drink then you better have one now," Ali warns him, "Because it looks like very soon you'll have to give it up!"

It only takes a second for Aalekh to understand and then a matching grin spreads across his face and he jumps in the air, punching his fist up and yelling "Yes!"

The guard grabs hold of his gun in alarm and Ali and Yudi quickly move to calm him down, letting him know that Aalekh is just happy.

They are heading to Delhi. It is time for a reunion of batchmates and friends.

/

In jail, Raj has no idea that anything has happened. All he hopes is that Abhimanyu has managed to convince Gehlot to agree to the deal.

He is surprised when he is told he has a visitor, and pleased when the door to the room opens and he sees Huda enter.

"Why is it that I have a strange sense of déjà vu?" Raj asks him, joking half heartedly.

Huda smiles and Raj notices that he seems genuinely happy.

"Naina sends you her love, and said to tell you that she's looking forward to seeing you on Thursday." Huda says with a grin.

"Thursday?" Raj asks, confused, "What's happening on Thursday? Are they allowing her to visit me?"

"Even better than that," Huda replies, "Thursday is your hearing date. You'll be able to argue your innocence, and for once, they're going to believe you."

Then he informs Raj of everything that had happened that morning.

When he finishes, tears fill Raj's eyes as he realises everything that Huda and the others have done for them. Finally everything is working out, all of the problems are about to be solved.

"Huda, if I wasn't handcuffed to this table, then I would come over there and hug you." Raj tells him.

"Don't worry, Sir." Huda replies. "I can come to you instead."

And getting up from his chair, he walks around the table, and hugs Raj.

Raj can't help thinking how much has changed since the last time Huda came to visit him in jail. Last time he had no hope, and this time he is confident that everything will work out.

Raj counts the days until Thursday. Only three days and then everything will be solved. Navin, Naina and he will all be proved innocent. And after that, they will have their entire lives in front of them.

He wishes that the time would pass quicker, Thursday seems a long time away.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Yudi, Aalekh and Ali arrive the following day, but Aalekh is still kept in custody since the case hasn't been decided yet. Feeling unhappy about this, Yudi decides it is time to confess his part in Captain Rajveer's rescue and asks to be arrested too. The officers are a bit shocked about this, but decide it would be best to take him into custody and prepare charges against him for the hearing as well.

Ali would like to confess too, but in the end he hadn't actually committed any crimes. Therefore the only thing he can do is to go and visit Naina in the hospital.

The reunion between the friends is a happy one, but they all miss Yudi and Aalekh. Ali can see the change in Naina that has happened over the past few months, she seems years older, as if she has seen and experienced far too much in far too short a time.

For the next two days, Huda, Priya, Pooja and Ali divided themselves between Naina, Raj and Yudi and Aalekh, trying to distract them all from the upcoming hearing. However Naina doesn't seem nervous at all, ever since she heard about the hearing, she has been perfectly calm, as if she no longer feels any fear. On the other hand, Raj seems to be on edge, barely able to contain his emotions inside.

On Wednesday, Naina's parents arrive in Delhi. When they visit her in hospital, they are surprised by her calmness, her complete acceptance of the situation.

"It will all work out." Naina tells them, "There's nothing to fear anymore."

Whatever happens, even if she receives a jail sentence, her mission has been completed.

It is a bittersweet reunion for Naina and her parents, they are happy to have their little girl back again after the months when she was missing. However the question remains of whether they have gotten her back only to lose her again. Naina's parents no longer trust the justice system after what it did to Navin.

They also notice the change in Naina, and wonder exactly what has happened over these past months when she was missing. She is no longer the same girl she was when she left. But Naina is unwilling to say anything about the time she was gone, she avoids their questions, asking about how they've been instead.

Naina's mother had been hoping that once she returned, Huda and Naina's engagement would be back on again. However looking at the two of them, it seems that neither has the slightest regret that their engagement has been broken off. Although she notices the new ring on Naina's finger, Mrs Ahluwalia doesn't ask about it. Naina's unwillingness to talk makes her think it will be better to ask after the hearing is over.

On Thursday morning, Naina is transferred to the court under armed guard. Since they aren't members of the military, her parents can't attend the hearing and they wait outside. Huda, Priya, Pooja and Ali will all be testifying, so they are able to attend.

They arrive early, and Huda speaks to one of the guards quietly, who shows them into a nearby room where they can wait. Five minutes later, when Huda is just beginning to think that something has gone wrong, the door opens and Raj enters, accompanied by Abhimanyu.

Naina immediately stands, her gaze completely fixed upon him. Her eyes shine with so much happiness and love that only a blind man wouldn't be able to see it. Raj stares at her like she is the most beautiful sight he's ever seen, it feels like it has been an age since he saw her, an age since he touched her.

Coughing self consciously, Abhimanyu makes a gesture to the rest of them, and everybody leaves the room as quietly as possible, shutting the door behind them. Neither Raj nor Naina respond to them leaving, unable to take their eyes off the other.

Raj is the first to move, crossing the room quickly, he crushes Naina to him, enveloping her in his arms. Closing his eyes, he buries his face in her neck, inhaling her scent, feeling her skin under his.

Tears slip out of Naina's eyes as she clings to him. A few days ago she had believed that she might never be able to hold him again, today it seems as if a miracle has occurred.

Taking Naina's face in both of his hands, Raj caresses her cheeks, determined to look at her to his heart's content.

Bending down, he kisses her with so much passion and feeling that Naina is left shaken and weak in the knees. She kisses him back, combing the fingers of her good arm through his hair.

When they finally part, Raj sighs, his breath warm on her face and tickling her ear.

"I missed you." He tells her.

"I missed you too." She replies, "But now everything will be alright."

Wrapping his arms around her, Raj hugs her against him. He wishes they could stay this way for longer, but there is a knocking at the door and reluctantly he lets her go, taking her good hand in his instead. Pooja opens the door and peeps inside, checking that they are both ready.

"It's time to go." She tells them.

Raj holds Naina's hand until they reach the door to the hearing room, needing to reassure himself that she really is there beside him. When they arrive, he hears Naina make a sound of delight and turns to see what she is looking at. There, already waiting to go in, are Yudi and Aalekh.

The four of them exchange quick hugs, knowing that they don't have much time left until they are called inside. The rest of their friends are already gone, as they will enter the hearing room from a different door.

"I can't believe that you admitted your role in this." Naina tells Yudi, "You could've gotten away with it and nobody would've ever known."

"Would I pass up my only chance to prove that I'm really a man?" Yudi jokes with her, and Naina smiles, reminded of old times and almost forgetting how serious the hearing they are about to go into is.

"Are we all ready?" Raj asks them.

Aalekh shrugs, "It's not like it's the first time I've been to court." He tells them, "Hopefully this judge is better than the others."

The door opens and the guards usher them through, showing them where they need to be seated.

The hearing lasts for eight hours as each side presents its evidence and questions witnesses. All of their friends are questioned by both the prosecution and the defence about what happened over the past months, and evidence is presented to the judges. Finally it comes time to question the accused. Naina is the last to be questioned about her role in the events, as Yudi, Aalekh and Raj have already told their versions of the story.

"Ms Ahluwalia, you masterminded a plan to free an accused traitor, in the process ambushing and injuring members of the Indian army and damaging government roads. What do you have to say in your defence?"

"I was careful that the soldiers shouldn't be injured, and they weren't." Naina responds, "I'm very sorry about the damage to the roads caused but it was unavoidable."

"But what justification do you have for your actions?"

"If I hadn't done so, then Captain Rajveer would have been dead by now." Naina replies, her voice free from any trace of guilt, "And an honest army officer is worth far more than the damage I did to that road."

The questioning goes on for hours, until the judges finally declare that they have received all of the evidence they need and call a recess so that they can make their decision. Aalekh slumps back in his seat, and Yudi leans forward with his head in his hands, exhausted.

"How do you think it looks?" he asks Raj, "Are we going to be acquitted?"

"I don't know," Raj replies honestly, "But I think that our chances are good."

Seeing the tired look on Naina's face, and the way she winces when she moves her arm, he leans forward and rubs her back comfortingly. She smiles at him, forgetting how tired she really is.

Finally, tearing her eyes away from Raj's, Naina turns to face Aalekh.

"So I hear you'll be giving up drinking if we win the case." She grins, obviously happy with the news.

Aalekh groans, "I was a fool to make that promise, at that time I was desperate to say anything that would make it better."

"And will you keep your promise?" Naina asks him.

"Yes," Aalekh replies, "If everything works out then it will be worth it."

He knows that Neelu will be waiting outside the hearing room, wanting to hear whether he's been forgiven or not. Yudi had told him she has been beside herself with worry ever since she found out he was arrested.

"If we're pardoned then I think we should all get a holiday." Yudi announces, "Surely they owe us some leave for saving the country from traitors."

"That would be nice," Naina tells them, "If they'll still admit me into the army then I wouldn't mind some leave before hand."

"Well at least Ali and Pooja could finally get engaged then." Yudi comments, knowing how hard it's been for both of them to keep refusing their parents for all these months.

"Yes," Raj replies, "And there'll be time for us to get married too."

Aalekh and Yudi stare at him, slightly shocked by the way he has said it so casually as if it had already been decided long ago. Naina just looks down at her feet, trying to hide the small smile that has come onto her face. Raj reaches out and takes Naina's hand again, entwining her fingers with his.

Yudi grins at Aalekh, who smiles back in return. Even though Naina hasn't said anything in reply, they know what her answer is.

"So Aalekh, if everybody else is getting married then when are you marrying my sister?" Yudi asks him, only half joking.

"Ask Neelu instead." Is the only reply Aalekh will give him.

Two minutes later, all of the officials begin to return to the hearing room, but Raj doesn't let go of Naina's hand. He doesn't care what anybody thinks, no matter what the decision is, they're in this together.

After calling the room to order, the lead judge begins to speak.

"The charges against these four accused are serious indeed, all have misled the Indian Army and broken various rules and laws. However, as we have heard today, it was in an effort to expose traitors who were harming our country's security and progress. After a great deal of thought and deliberation, it has been decided that the four accused, Captain Rajveer Singh Shekawat, Lieutenant Aalekh Sharma, Lieutenant Yaduvansh Sahni and Ms Naina Singh Ahluwalia, should all be pardoned, as the benefits of their actions far outweigh any illegal actions they have taken."

As soon as he announces this, the room erupts into cheers, Pooja can't control herself and begins crying in happiness, throwing her arms around Ali and jumping up and down. Huda turns to Priya and hugs her, before awkwardly realising what he has done and letting her go. She doesn't seem to mind though, and gives him a high five. "Yes!" Exclaims Abhimanyu, happy that finally everything is over and they can all move on with their lives.

As soon as the judge announces 'Court dismissed', their friends surge forward to congratulate them, a full five minutes is spent with everybody celebrating in happiness and relief.

Finally when they have all calmed down, they head towards the exit, Naina excited as she knows her parents will be waiting outside.

For the past eight hours, Naina's parents have barely been able to contain their fear or nervousness as they have sat with Neelu in the corridor, pacing up and down and drinking cup after cup of chai and coffee. Neelu has tried to reassure them as best as she can, but she has been nervous herself.

As soon as the courtroom door opens, they all look up, barely daring to hope that it has all worked out.

Coming out of the courtroom, Naina runs forward to meet them. "Ma, Baba, we won." She tells them, breaking down in tears. "We've finally won." They hug her to them, crying over her. Neelu is also emotional, hugging both Aalekh and Yudi, glad to have them both back with her.

"We knew you could do it, Beti." Naina's father tells her proudly, "You're exactly like your brother, you could never fail in any mission."

Until this moment, Raj has hung back, wanting to give Naina time with her parents. Turning around to check where he is, Naina motions to him to come forward which he does.

"Ma, Baba, you remember Captain Rajveer." Naina tells them, and Naina's mother suddenly understands everything by the love she can clearly see shining out of her daughter's face.

"Of course," she replies, "Thank you for looking after our daughter all of these months."

"Uncleji, Auntyji, I don't know if now is the right time." Raj tells them, "But I know how short life is, and I don't want to waste any more time. I want to marry your Naina." Seeing the surprised looks on their faces he quickly adds, "As soon as possible."

While Naina's mother had guessed her daughter's feelings, she hadn't expected him to propose so quickly. Up until this point, Mr Ahluwalia had been completely clueless and is staring at Raj while he tries to understand it. Before she left, Naina got engaged to somebody, and now that she's returned, she wants to marry somebody else.

However the look of happiness and shyness on Naina's face quickly convinces him, and he steals only one look at Huda to find that the boy does not seem in the least bit bothered, in fact he is smiling just as widely as everybody else there.

"You have our permission, Beta." He tells Raj, "We trust Naina to make the right decisions in life."

Relieved, Raj leans down to touch their feet and they give him their blessings.

Priya has been watching Huda carefully while this is happening, trying to find any trace of sorrow or regret in his face. Instead she realises that he is genuinely happy for the couple, and that he has moved on with his life.

"So Huda, did it all turned out how you hoped?" she asks.

"It turned out even better than that." He replies, and for the first time Priya notices the question in his eyes when he looks at her.

"So what now?" Yudi asks them all. "I mean, we've won, we've completed the mission, and after all these months we're finally all together again."

"Now we celebrate." Naina tells him with a smile, all of the pain and hardship she'd been through to reach this point forgotten. "And all of you need to apply for some leave, I think we all need a holiday."

Nobody can argue with that, after everything they've been through, they all deserve one.

/

Luckily, the army agrees with them and grants everybody two weeks leave. It is not as much as they'd hoped for, but nobody is willing to argue in case it is taken away. Priya fits into the group of friends easily, and she looks forward to spending the next two weeks with them, getting to know them better.

After the two weeks are over, Naina will finally be joining her duty, many months after she was originally supposed to. She has mixed feelings about it after everything she endured, but in the end it was always her goal. Huda has requested a transfer to Ladakh so that he can be with his friends, and it has been approved. From there he plans to write letters to Priya and call her every week, slowly winning her over. This time he is determined to take his time before telling her his feelings, he's learned from the mistakes he made when he was in love with Naina.

Naina is going to become Priya's new partner. After she managed to successfully evade capture for so many months, headquarters has decided that they need somebody like her to chase fugitives. Naina is happy to accept the job for now because Raj will also be temporarily posted at headquarters, to ensure that all of the traitors have been found, and that any problems they have created will be fixed. He will also be helping to prepare the case against Gehlot and his comrades.

Pooja and Ali's parents are finally able to hold their engagement, and they organise it in a hurry, afraid that something else might happen to delay it. Since everybody is already in Delhi, they hire a hall there for the occasion, and it's the celebration that everybody has been waiting for. Along with relatives and family friends, most of their old batchmates and teachers from KMA attend, with the exception of Major Nair who sends his apologies much to everybody's relief. BC isn't able to attend either, but promises to make it to their wedding.

The whole night is filled by dancing and fun. Raj and Naina stay by each others' sides for most of the evening, and even when they're apart they keep glancing at each other and exchanging smiles. Huda drags Priya to the dance floor even though she refuses, and manages to get her to dance with him. Anybody watching them can clearly see that Priya's refusals aren't too strong and she agrees to join him rather quickly.

Ali and Pooja are both ecstatic, it's a double celebration for them, first for their long awaited engagement and secondly, for a reunion between friends and the pardoning of Naina, Raj, Aalekh and Yudi along with the proving of Navin's innocence. As soon as the engagement is over, their parents start planning their wedding, deciding to hold it in about six months when everybody will be eligible for leave again.

Yudi is disappointed that Aalekh and Neelu haven't decided to get engaged or married yet, but he accepts their decision. He knows that they need to do things in their own time, both of them fiercely independent.

Naina's parents want to hold a large engagement and wedding for her and Raj, but she flat out refuses. All that matters to her is that they're finally married and she's not willing to wait for a large party to be organised. She explains to her family that she doesn't want any large celebration, it's enough for them to just get married in front of their friends and family.

Naina's parents are so thankful just to have her back in one piece and to finally have their son's innocence proven, that they give in. Three days after Ali and Pooja's engagement, Naina and Raj very quietly get married in a temple, surrounded by those that they love the most. Although Naina's sari is simple, and she is only wearing minimal jewellery and makeup, it is the glow on her face that makes her the most beautiful bride that anybody has ever seen.

When her parents bring her to the mandap, Raj can barely take his eyes off her, and when they place her hand in his, he holds it tightly, making a promise to himself that he'll never allow them to be separated again. As their guests watch them take the pheres, most of them have tears in their eyes.

With the rituals completed, a feeling of completeness settles over both of them. If it wasn't for all their friends and family watching, he would've kissed her right then, but Raj knows that he has more than enough time to do that. They have their whole lives together in front of them, and he knows that with Naina by his side, he can handle whatever challenges life throws their way.

As Naina and Raj accept the congratulations of their family and friends, Naina considers the past few months of her life and how much has changed within that short time frame. All of those months ago she had disappeared, with only an incomplete plan and an intention to save Raj and prove her brother innocent.

Naina suddenly realises that she's incredibly thankful her original plan didn't work out, if it had then perhaps today she would be standing here with the wrong man.

Instead, everything has worked out much better than she ever could have planned or imagined.

Gazing into Raj's eyes, Naina knows that she's exactly where she's meant to be, with exactly the right person. She believes that everything they've been through was intended to lead up to this exact moment in time, this exact outcome.

It's fate, pure and simple.

It's the perfect happy ending.


End file.
